Don Mario, whose real name is Daniel Rendón Herrera, is the presumed boss of the drug traffickers in the west and north of Colombia. He is the brother of demobilized paramilitary leader Freddy ‘the German’ Rendón.Over the past two months anti narcotics police tried to capture the druglord five times. During these raids 80 AK-47’s, 300 grenades and heavy artillery were found by the police, but ‘Don Mario’ is still on the run.According to General Álvaro Caro, commander of the anti narcotics police, Don Mario is currently involved in a “war” with other drug lords over the control over the north western part of Colombia, an area very important for the transport and export of Colombian cocaine to the United States and Europe.Over a 100 drug related murders have been reported in the first three months of 2008, all assumed to be related to this “war”. In that same period, the police was able to confiscate 500 tons of cocaine in the departments of Córdoba and Uraba alone. 23 of Don Mario’s assumed group of 100 personal bodyguards have been arrested so far.
Colombian drug lord ‘Don Mario’ hunted by police in three departments
