Associated Press Writer= DENVER (AP) — A Mexican drug kingpin who led a fearsome cartel for more than a decade was sentenced Thursday to 17 years in prison for trafficking drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Miguel Angel Caro Quintero pleaded guilty last fall to one count of racketeering in Colorado and one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana in Arizona.

Kingpin convicted in Colo. and Ariz. gets 17 years | World news | guardian.co.uk .