Colombia Reports ‘Significantly’ Less Missing Ammunition Than President’s Statement
A military report contradicts President Gustavo Petro’s recent assertions about missing ammunition and weapons from Colombia’s army. Petro claimed that over 1.6 million bullets were missing from two military bases, along with explosive munitions and several missiles, including Spike and Nimrod missiles.
However, the report cited by Petro shows significantly lower figures, with only 131,000 missing bullets and nearly 6,000 explosive munitions. The report does not mention missing missiles. Both the presidency and the defense ministry declined to comment on the matter.
According to two senior military sources, the discrepancy in figures occurred because the president read from the wrong column in the report. General Helder Giraldo, commander of Colombia’s military, stated that an investigation is underway to determine the accurate quantity of missing ammunition. He denied any loss of missiles and mentioned an ongoing investigation into allegations of arms being sold to organized armed groups by members of Colombia’s military.
Giraldo emphasized that soldiers implicated in the alleged arms sales have been removed from their positions and are facing criminal charges. However, he did not disclose the number of soldiers under investigation. The military clarified that the actual amount of missing ammunition is significantly less than what was reported by Petro but affirmed its commitment to combat corruption that supports illegal armed groups.
Colombia’s security forces have faced various corruption and human rights abuse charges over the years. The country’s prolonged internal conflict has resulted in the deaths of over 450,000 people.
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