Este sitio web fue traducido automáticamente. Para obtener más información, por favor haz clic aquí.

A high-ranking Sinaloa drug cartel member was extradited to the United States over the weekend to face international drug trafficking and firearms charges. 

Jorge Ivan Gastelum Avila, 42, made his initial appearance in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday to face those charges.

a Sinaloa cartel hitman with HSI and FBI officers

Prosecutors say Jorge Ivan Gastelum Avila was a lead assassin for Sinaloa.  (ice.gov)

Officials have called Gastelum Avila – a.k.a. "El Cholo Ivan" – a "prolific" purveyor of violence within the Sinaloa Cartel, run by the notorious Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman

Between 2009 and 2016, Gastelum Avila was a lead assassin for Sinaloa and worked closely with El Chapo, prosecutors said. 

4 KILLED IN BEACH SHOOTING AT MEXICO VACATION MECCA

In his alleged role as the "plaza boss" for the Mexican city of Guamúchil, prosecutors said Gastelum Avila supervised at least 200 armed men and controlled the drug trafficking activities in the city and around the area. 

a Sinaloa cartel hitman with HSI and FBI officers

Jorge Ivan Gastelum Avila with HSI, FBI, and U.S. Marshals agents.  (ice.gov)

Gastelum and El Chapo were arrested in January 2016 in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico. In December 2018, a grand jury returned an indictment against Gastelum Avila. Mexican authorities arrested Gastelum Avila in March 2020 based on a provisional request from the U.S. He was extradited from Mexico to the U.S. on Saturday. 

"Without a doubt, many lives on both sides of the border have been spared now that he is on U.S. soil facing drug- and firearms-related charges," Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Arizona Special Agent in Charge Scott Brown said in a statement. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Gastelum Avila is facing multiple drug charges and a weapons charge. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison for the drug conspiracy charge and a mandatory consecutive sentence of 30 years for the firearms offense.