This undated photo released by Colombia's National Police show officers escorting a man who police identify as Ecuadorean drug trafficker Washington Edison Prado after his April 2017 arrest on an indictment by a Florida federal court. (Colombia National Police via AP, File)

A defense attorney for a newly extradited drug smuggling defendant nicknamed the “Pablo Escobar of Ecuador” said the moniker amounts to ridiculous and shameful media hype.

“It's a very serious case. There's no question about it,” said Miami attorney Richard Diaz, who has represented Edison Washington Prado Alava since days after the Miami federal indictment was unsealed last June.

Diaz focused on a comparison between Escobar's 20-year reign atop the Medellin cartel compared with the indictment charging Prado was tied to cocaine smuggling from December 2015 to October 2016.

“You're a Pablo Escobar after 10 months in the drug trade?” Diaz asked.

Prado, 32, was extradited from Colombia on Saturday and could face a life sentence on a cocaine distribution conspiracy charge. Diaz entered a plea of not guilty for him at his initial appearance Monday in a U.S. court, appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Chris McAliley. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga for trial.

The brief indictment charges Prado and four others, all outside the United States, with running drugs through his native Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala “and elsewhere.” The allegations are listed in two paragraphs.

Prado arrived in Miami after unsuccessfully trying to prevent his extradition by claiming membership in the paramilitary Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, a status that would have made him eligible for a type of amnesty under a peace deal.

Diaz said his client had a relationship with the FARC that could be misinterpreted, but he added, “This indictment charges drug importation, and I don't want to lose sight of what's important and relevant.”

The Colombian prosecutor's office said in a statement that Prado was escorted by a detail of 50 commandos and agents of various police agencies as he was turned over to U.S. authorities.

U.S. officials accuse Prado, also known by the aliases “Gerald” and Jhon Alex Rengifo Garcia, of shipping more than 250 tons of cocaine to the United States.

Police say he ran the most sophisticated smuggling route on the Pacific coast of South America, and they compared it to the Medellin cartel of three decades ago because it sought to dominate the entire cocaine supply chain from production to its distribution in the U.S.

Police say Prado's group sent as many as 10 go-fast boats a week, each carrying around a ton of cocaine. He allegedly began as a boatman running drugs along Ecuador's coast and rose to become head of a small army of smugglers spread across five countries.

Prado was arrested in Colombia in April on the Miami indictment. Diaz said he has more details than usual about the allegations because of the evidence submitted by the U.S. government for extradition.

Diaz was surprised by the speed of the extradition since the Colombian president approved Prado's removal within a week of receiving the formal papers.

“Now we're here, and we can focus on this,” Diaz said.

In terms of Prado's defense, his attorney said he has a general idea what the evidence is.

“I can't even start thinking about formulating a defense until I start seeing the discovery,” Diaz said.