DEA

A drug informant who helped the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration build some of its biggest cases has been arrested and charged with scheming to extort major cocaine traffickers facing extradition from Colombia and the Dominican Republic.

Sheriff Chad Chronister called the nomination “the honor of a lifetime” but said he had concluded he must “back away from the opportunity."

Calling it the "honor of a lifetime," Sheriff Chad Chronister said on social media that he's "deeply humbled" by the opportunity to lead the enforcement of federal drug laws.

Dairo Antonio Úsuga, better known by his alias Otoniel, is the alleged head of the much-feared Gulf Clan. President Iván Duque likened his arrest to the capture three decades ago of Pablo Escobar.

The Republican congressman from Pennsylvania is withdrawing days after reports that legislation he sponsored hindered the Drug Enforcement Administration in its fight against the U.S. opioid crisis.