A man alleged to be the most powerful drug lord ever extradited by Colombia appeared before a US judge today on charges that he ran a multibillion-dollar business from a Colombian jail cell.
Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, a former boss of the Cali cartel once considered responsible for 80 per cent of the cocaine smuggled into the US, appeared in a Miami court in shackles, sandals and olive green prison garb for a brief appearance before a magistrate.
Listening to translators through headphones, the gray-haired 65-year-old "capo" gave his name and age in Spanish.
US prosecutors accuse Rodriguez Orejuela of conspiracy to import cocaine, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, obstructing justice and conspiracy to launder money even after he was jailed in Colombia in 1995.
They want the courts to seize $2.1 billion in unspecified assets they say were the proceeds of money laundering.
Defence attorney Mr Jose Quinon did not request bail. "There's no sense in wasting everybody's time. Bond wasn't something that was going to happen," he later told reporters outside the federal court house.
Mr Quinon also said Rodriguez Orejuela intended to plead not guilty and take the case to trial, where he would contest the US government accusations.
He said his client had admitted to drug trafficking before 1995, and had served 9-1/2 years in a Colombian prison to pay his debt to society. "Our contention is from 1995 forward and that's the critical point. That's the threshold," he said.
US officials regard Rodriguez Orejuela as the highest-level drug cartel figure ever to sit in a US prison cell.
Judge William Turnoff set December 27th for his arraignment.