Rosso josé Serrano Cadena was born on August 30, 1942 in Vélez, Colombia. Head Chief General of the Colombian National Police from 1994 to 2000 during Ernesto Samper's presidency and was one of the masterminds behind the dismantling of the Cali Cartel and Medellín Cartel. 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 Colombian diplomatic mission to Austria.
Serrano joined the Colombian National Police 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.
On May 16, 2007 in a court hearing in Medellín, former paramilitary warlord and commander of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) Salvatore Mancuso declared that the former director in chief of the Colombian National Police and current ambassador of Colombia to Austria Rosso José Serrano had intervened on behalf of the AUC leaders captured in La Guajira Department which included Rodrigo Tovar Pupo (aka "Jorge 40").[1]