Rosso José Serrano Cadena (August 30, 1942) is a former

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

of the

Colombian National Police The National Police of Colombia (Spanish: ''Policía Nacional de Colombia'') is the national police force of the Republic of Colombia. Although the National Police is not part of the Military Forces of Colombia (Army, Navy, and Air Force), it c ...

from 1994 to 2000 during

Ernesto Samper Ernesto Samper Pizano (born 3 August 1950) is a Colombian politician. Samper is a member of the influential Samper family. He served as the President of Colombia from 1994 to 1998, representing the Liberal Party. From 2014 to 2017 he served as ...

's presidency and was one of the masterminds behind the dismantling of the

Cali Cartel The Cali Cartel ( es, Cartel de Cali) was a drug cartel based in southern Colombia, around the city of Cali and the Valle del Cauca. Its founders were the brothers Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela and Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela. They broke away fr ...

and

Medellín Cartel The Medellín Cartel ( es, Cartel de Medellín) was a powerful and highly organized Colombian drug cartel and terrorist organization originating in the city of Medellín, Colombia that was founded and led by Pablo Escobar. It is often considered ...

. Serrano received numerous national and international decorations for his work against illicit drugs, drug-trafficking and the restructuring of the Colombian Police. He is currently working as head of the

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

n diplomatic mission to

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Early years

Born in

Vélez, Santander Vélez () is a town and municipality of the Santander Department in northeastern Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Car ...

, Serrano joined the

in 1960, attended classes in the " General Santander Police Academy" graduating in Police Administration and also received a doctorate in law and political sciences from

La Gran Colombia University La Gran Colombia University is a private university located in Bogotá, D.C., Colombia. It was founded on May 24, 1951, by Julio César García Valencia, recognized Colombian historian of the Twentieth century. Faculties * Accountancy * Archite ...

Public image and recognition

Serrano was described with words like "hero" in international

media outlets Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit information ...

. The American

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

Bob Barr Robert Laurence Barr Jr. (born November 5, 1948) is an American attorney and politician. He served as a federal prosecutor and as a United States House of Representatives, Congressman. He represented Georgia's 7th congressional district as a Re ...

called him a "true hero in the War on Drugs". Serrano was twice chosen as the ''World's Top Cop'' by the International Association of Police Chiefs. The Los Angeles Times wrote in 2000:

Serrano’s ability to anticipate change and respond has allowed him to survive four defense ministers and two presidents during his more than five years as police director. That’s impressive for a kid from the little town of Velez who admits that he joined the police at age 17 because he liked the uniform. “Serrano is more than a great policeman,” said
Myles Frechette Myles Robert Rene Frechette (25 April 1936 – 1 July 2017) was U.S. Ambassador to Cameroon (1983-1987) and Colombia (1994-1997).US State DeptMyles Robert Rene Frechette (1936-)/ref> A career diplomat, he joined the US Foreign Service in 1963; ot ...
, former U.S. ambassador to Colombia.

Parapolitics Scandal

On May 16, 2007 in a court hearing in Medellín, former paramilitary warlord and commander of the

United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia The United Self-Defences of Colombia (''Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia'', or AUC, in Spanish) was a Colombian far-right paramilitary and drug trafficking group which was an active belligerent in the Colombian armed conflict during the period ...

(AUC)

Salvatore Mancuso Salvatore Mancuso Gómez, also known as "el Mono Mancuso", "Santander Lozada" or "Triple Cero" (i.e. "Triple Zero", or, "000"), among other names (born August 17, 1964 in Montería, Córdoba) is a Colombian paramilitary leader, once second in ...

declared that the former director in chief of the

and current ambassador of Colombia to

Rosso José Serrano had intervened on behalf of the AUC leaders captured in

La Guajira Department La Guajira () is a department of Colombia. It occupies most of the Guajira Peninsula in the northeast region of the country, on the Caribbean Sea and bordering Venezuela, at the northernmost tip of South America. The capital city of the departm ...

which included

Rodrigo Tovar Pupo Rodrigo Tovar Pupo, (aka Jorge 40 his nom de guerre; born 19 November 1960) was born in Valledupar, Colombia. He was the leader of the Northern Bloc of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia. He demobilized with his two thousand men strong grou ...

(aka "Jorge 40"

Popular culture

* In TV Series '' El cartel (TV series), El cartel'' is portrayed by the colombian actor Germán Quintero as the character of Javier Ibarra. *In the American crime thriller drama ''

Narcos ''Narcos'' is an American-Colombian crime drama television series created and produced by Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, and Doug Miro. Set and filmed in Colombia, seasons 1 and 2 are based on the story of Colombian narcoterrorist and drug kin ...

'' he is portrayed by the actor Gaston Velandia.

References

External links

fas.orgRosso Jose Serrano speech - European UnionCalle22 on Rosso Jose Serrano
{{DEFAULTSORT:Serrano, Rosso 1942 births Living people Colombian police officers Colombian parapolitics scandal Ambassadors of Colombia to Austria