Mario Ramirez Treviño was extradited to the United States this week. Photo by Government of Mexico

Dec. 19 (UPI) -- An alleged former leader of Mexico's Gulf Cartel was extradited to the United States to face drug conspiracy charges, the U.S. Justice Department announced Tuesday.

Mario Ramirez Treviño was brought before a federal judge in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, where he was ordered to be held in federal custody. He has been imprisoned in Mexico since 2013, where he was captured and detained pending his extradition.


The suspected ex-cartel boss is charged with "conspiracy to manufacture and distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana for importation into the United States," the Justice Department said in a statement.

Ramirez is also charged with the attempted distribution of approximately 10 tons of cocaine, which was seized by Mexican authorities in 2007, as well as a 2,400 kilogram shipment seized by Panamanian authorities that same year.

Before his arrest in 2013, Ramirez was one of the highest-profile cartel bosses in Mexico and US. authorities, who had a warrant for his arrest since 2006, offered a $5 million reward for his capture, according to the BBC.

According to Insight Crime, Ramirez was a former police officer who developed a drug addiction. After a stint in rehab, he began working for the Gulf Cartel and quickly became a leader of one of its armed factions in the late 1990s.

Ramirez eventually became the head of the Gulf Cartel in 2013, but Mexican authorities caught up to him shortly after his promotion later that year.