Colombian drug kingpin pleads guilty in US

Washington: A Colombian drug leader has admitted to leading a cartel that sent more than $10 billion worth of cocaine to the United States, the Justice Department said.

Luis Hernando Gomez-Bustamante also pleaded guilty on Friday to US racketeering charges.

The Justice Department said Gomez-Bustamante's cartel engaged in murder, drug smuggling, money laundering and bribery.

Since 1990, the group has exported more than 500,000kg of cocaine, worth more than $10 billion, from Colombia to Mexico and ultimately to the United States, the department said.

The United States, as part of an extradition request to Colombia, has agreed not to seek a life sentence for Gomez-Bustamante and instead seek a multi-year prison term.