Colombia's president lauded police for killing Pedro Guerrero, a notorious drug lord known as "The Knife" who had a 2.5-million-dollar US bounty on his head.
The drug kingpin, Guerrero, alias “cuchillo” (knife), was killed in a joint police and air force operation on Dec. 25, President Juan Manuel Santos said on Wednesday.
"We can say that the murderer of all murderers has fallen. This is the greatest blow dealt to criminal organizations. This man is a narco-paramilitary who was damaging the country. He died just as he lived. This is a warning to the rest of the high level objectives. They will all fall," the president said.
The US bounty will now be paid to several informants, Santos said.
Clashes took place in the Meta Province of Colombia around 320 kilometers (200 miles) south of the capital Bogota on Tuesday, which also claimed the lives of two police officers.
Colombian Army General Oscar Naranjo showed Guerrero's gold encrusted gun during a news conference in Bogota on Wednesday. He said the weapon was thought to be a gift from Mexican drug cartels.
Guerrero's gang is blamed for some 3,000 murders in southern Colombia.
Meanwhile, Colombian police announced that they have seized six tons of cocaine in the country's main port town of Buenaventura on the Pacific. The drug shipment was being readied for transport to Guatemala en route to the United States.
Authorities have described the seizure as a major blow to drug cartels largely run by former paramilitary troopers.
FTP/MGH