BOGOTA - Special forces from the Colombian army and the US Drugs Enforcement Administration (DEA) on Thursday captured the second in command of one of Colombia's most notorious drug cartels, The National Police of Colombia said in a statement.

Gustavo Alvarez Tellez, also known as "Tavo", is the second in command of the "The Envigado Office" drug cartel. He was arrested on the Caribbean island of Curazao in an operation that Colombian and US intelligence agents had been planning for months.

The arrest was carried out jointly by DEA agents and Colombian security forces in what the police described as "a strategic blow" against the cartel, which is one of the largest criminal organizations in Colombia.

The Envigado cartel is located in the region of the same name in Colombia's north-central province of Antioquia, close to the country's second largest city of Medellin, which is led by the drug lord Maximiliano Bonilla Orozco, also known as "Valenciano". The US has offered a $5 million award for the arrest of Valenciano. Both Valenciano and Tavo are wanted by the US.