"Shorty is the Pablo Escobar of Mexico, " said security consultant Scott Stewart, invoking the memory of the colorful Medellin cartel leader who also landed on the Forbes list and thumbed his nose at Colombian authorities until he died in a shower of police bullets in December 1993.

CNN: Stakes rise as drug war threatens to cross border

In 2001, Colombia extradited to the US a former leader of the Medellin cocaine cartel.

BBC: NEWS | Americas | US goes after Cali cocaine bosses

In other developments, Colombia's Supreme Court Wednesday opened the way for the extradition of Fabio Ochoa, a major drug kingpin for the Medellin drug cartel.

CNN: Powerful bomb explodes in Medellin