The Colombian government says a drug trafficker and former paramilitary leader known as "The Knife" for his use of the weapon to mutilate victims, has been killed by security forces.
Authorities announced Wednesday that Pedro Guerrero had been killed after police launched a Christmas Day raid with air support against him in the southeastern part of the country.
President Juan Manuel Santos issued a statement saying, "the assassin of assassins," had fallen and that the government was after Guerrero for many years. President Santos also praised the operation that led to Guerrero's death and attributed more than 3,000 deaths to the former paramilitary.
Authorities say Guerrero later ran a drug gang called the Popular Revolutionary Anti-Terrorist Army of Colombia, or ERPAC. Guerrero was one of Colombia's most-wanted drug traffickers, with a $2.5 million reward offered for his capture. Guerrero had been blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury Department, barring Americans from conducting any business or transactions with him.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, Bloomberg and Reuters.
