Ramiro Lopez-Imitola has the distinction of being one of the biggest king pins ever extradited to face court in the United States.
On Thursday, the 61 year-old was sentenced to 40 years in prison for being one of the most prolific heroin traffickers of all time.
Lopez-Imitola headed a cartel based out of Colombia and Venezuela and at the time of his demize, was forced by the court to forfeit a $200 million fortune.
The interesting part of the case was that he was extradited by Colombia with the understanding that he would not be sentenced to life in prison. However, a 40 year sentence for a 61 year old means he will be lucky to ever see freedom again.
What this means for the position of the US when attempting to negotiate for the extradition of drug criminals in the future is unclear, but it would be a stretch to suggest it has improved their overall bargaining position. There has so far been no response from the Colmbian government concerning the sentence.
Time will tell how either the Colmbian government or other governments will react to future extradition requests.