Colombian crime boss “Valenciano” was extradited from Venezuela to the United States Thursday to answer charges of drug trafficking.
Valenciano was arrested during a Colombian and Venezuelan joint operation November 28 in the city of Maracaibo, Venezuela, approximately 80 miles from the nation’s capital, Caracas.
According to authorities, the 38-year old was in charge of managing drug trafficking routes to the U.S. via Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.
The director of Colombia’s National Police, Oscar Naranjo, said earlier this month that Valenciano’s guilt was already well-established; all that needed to happen was the decision by a grand jury in the U.S. of how many years in jail he deserved.
The captured crime boss has been linked to rebel groups such as the ELN and Mexico’s “Los Zetas.” He was the leader of the “Oficina de Envigado,” a criminal organization that stemmed from Pablo Escobar‘s Medellin cartel.