Cali cartel boss extradited to US

The former head of the Cali drug cartel, once one of the most powerful drugs traffickers in the world, has been extradited to the US.

Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela, having exhausted all possible appeals, was handed over to agents of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

He faces charges of drugs trafficking and money laundering.

The Cali drugs cartel, once the richest crime syndicate in the world, has now come to an end.

Orejuela was the last of the cartel's kingpins.

At 61 years old and facing more than 20 years in prison, he may never see Colombia again.

Family business

Miguel, along with his brother Gilberto, who was extradited last year, headed the Cali drug cartel and built it up into a billion-dollar enterprise, shipping hundreds of tons of cocaine to the US.

Miguel was captured in 1995, when extradition was banned in Colombia.

It was reinstated in 1997, and to get their hands on the Cali drug lord, the DEA had to prove that Rodriguez Orejuela continued to run his criminal empire from prison.

Colombia's justice system was convinced by the DEA evidence.

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