My client from day one has stated that he is innocent of these charges

Jose Quinon, lawyer

The authorities' campaign to stop Mr Ochoa - a former lieutenant of the notorious drugs baron Pablo Escobar - helped to inspire the television series, Miami Vice.

At the 30-minute hearing, Mr Ochoa's lawyer, Jose Quinon, said he hoped his client would get a fair trial in the US, and believed he would be found not guilty.

He added: "Ochoa is sad because Colombia did not respect his rights as a citizen. Mr Quinon said he had not decided whether to apply for bail.

A date for the trial has not been set.

Key visit

The hearing came as US Secretary of State Colin Powell prepares to visit Colombia, amid speculation as to whether Washington would give further aid to the President Andres Pastrana beleaguered government, or restrict itself to the fight against drugs.

Colin Powell: Could alter the focus of US aid

Ahead of his visit, Mr Powell designated the right-wing paramilitary group, the United Self-Defence Forces (AUC), as a foreign terrorist group, making financial support for it illegal.

"The AUC has carried out numerous acts of terrorism, including the massacre of hundreds of civilians, the forced displacement of entire villages and the kidnapping of political figures to force recognition of AUC demands," he said.

BBC Bogota correspondent Jeremy McDermott says that the US-sponsored drug war is not being won, with more coca and poppy being sown than ever before.

Both the AUC and left-wing guerrilla groups are growing stronger on drug profits, he says.

Wanted trafficker

Fabio Ochoa was one of America's most wanted drug traffickers.

He was arrested at his home in Medellin, Colombia, in October 1999, during Operation Millennium, a major operation by Colombian, Mexican and US agents.

Fabio Ochoa was captured in a massive sweep of drugs traffickers

He has consistently fought extradition, arguing that he would never receive a fair trial, and has publicly stated that he would rather end up in a Colombian grave than an American jail.

But all that came to an end at the weekend when a judge in Bogota ruled that he could in fact be sent to the US to face charges of importing hundreds of tonnes of cocaine into the country in the late 1990s.

As a leader of one of Colombia's most influential and notorious drug cartels, the authorities believe he is responsible for dozens of bombings and hundreds of murders, including those of 500 police officers and 40 judges in Colombia.

The fact that one of the region's biggest drugs suppliers will now face an American court is being hailed as a huge success.