NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former leftist guerrilla commander was sentenced to 27 years in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to conspiring to send tons of cocaine to the United States from Colombia, U.S. prosecutors said.

Gerardo Aguilar Ramirez, 50, was captured in 2008 during a Colombian military raid that freed three American hostages held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a statement by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney said.

Following his extradition to the United States a year ago, Ramirez pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to increase cocaine trafficking to the United States, the statement said. Ramirez also admitted to being a top FARC commander, it said.

(Reporting by Basil Katz; Editing by Michelle Nichols and Sandra Maler)