On Wednesday, Colombia extradited one of the country's most renowned drug lords to the United States, President Ivan Duque announced through Twitter.

"I want to reveal that we have extradited Dairo Antonio Usuga, alias 'Otoniel'; the most dangerous drug trafficker in the world," Duque said.

"Today legality, the state of law, the security forces and justice triumphed," he declared.

Usuga, 50, was the boss of Colombia's largest narco-trafficking ring, the Gulf Clan, and the country's most sought man before his October arrest.

On Wednesday afternoon, he was transported from his cell in Bogota to a military airport by a convoy of bullet-proof police trucks. He was handed over to US Drug Enforcement Administration personnel.

According to images released by local media, he was shackled and sitting in an airplane beside Colombian police and an Interpol officer.

Usuga was apprehended near the Panamanian border last year after a large military operation involving 500 soldiers and 22 helicopters.

It was one of the most severe blows to Colombia's drug trafficking industry since Pablo Escobar's killing in 1993.

The Gulf Clan was reportedly responsible for 30% of Colombia's cocaine exports, the world's largest producer and supplier.

Duque declared the "end" of the Clan following Usuga's arrest and that of another 90 accused gang members.

In 2009, the United States indicted Usuga and offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his apprehension. Between 2003 and 2012, he and the Gulf Clan accuses him of illegally smuggling at least 73 tons of cocaine into the nation.