Rosso Jose Serrano (30 August 1942-) was the General of the Colombian National Police from 1994 to 2000 during Ernesto Samper's presidency. He was known for his fervent Catholicism and his tough anti-corruption stance, and he was one of the masterminds behind the fall of the Cali Cartel.
Biography[]
A younger Serrano
Rosso Jose Serrano was born in Velez, Colombia on 30 August 1942. His interest in law enforcement dated back to his youth, when he saw several mounted policemen ride through his village as he played soccer. He saw the mounted policemen as the crusading knights mentioned in the books that he had read, and he believed that joining them would mean that he could serve God. Serrano would rise in the ranks of the Colombian National Police after joining them in 1960, and he was known for his honesty; upon taking control of the Velez department, he fired two-thirds of its officers to purge the department of corruption.
Serrano would become one of the top police commanders in the country, and he became a full General in 1994 under President Ernesto Samper. Minister of National Defense Fernando Botero Zea, who had accepted bribes from the Cali Cartel, reluctantly agreed to have Serrano take charge of the efforts to bring down the cartel in 1995; DEA agent Javier Pena selected Serrano for the job due to his honesty. The first attempt to capture Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela failed, as the DEA agents were prevented from breaking down his shower wall hideout at the last minute by the local district attorney. However, a second attempt on 6 August 1995 succeeded in apprehending Rodriguez; Serrano crashed his police cruiser into Rodriguez's car, incapacitating it. A wounded Rodriguez was captured, and Serrano famously escorted him to prison in Bogota with a thumbs up, a pose featured in several pictures of Rodriguez's arrest.