Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Wednesday confirmed the death of “Cuchillo,” one of Colombia’s most wanted drug lords.
In a televised press conference, Santos said Pedro Oliveiro Guerrero, alias Cuchillo died on Christmas day, hours after police forces stormed the central Colombian camp he was in.
According to Santos, the drug lord initially knew to escape the police offensive, but was later surrounded and killed.
After his body was taken to Bogota, the Prosecutor General’s coroner’s office confirmed the death of Cuchillo on Wednesday morning, said Santos.
In the operation that led to the death of the drug lord, two policemen were killed in the firefight between authorities and Cuchillo’s men.
“I want to pay them tribute. They were shot by the gangsters and unfortunately died. I send my condolences to their families. They will always be remembered as heroes of the country,” Santos said.
The president stressed the brutality of Cuchillo, who he called “the killer of killers.” According to National Police commissioner Oscar Naranjo, Cuchillo ordered 3,000 murders in his criminal career that started in paramilitary organization AUC.
According to Santos, Cuchillo’s death “is the heaviest blow given to the neo-paramilitary groups, who “all are going to go down.”
The President vowed the authorities will not rest until “this country can relax in peace.”
According to crime analyst website Insight Crime, it is unclear what will happen with Cuchillo’s organization after the leader’s death. The website says “there is no clear successor, and the group could divide into mini-groups, posing a different type of challenge to Colombian authorities.”
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