On August 17, 2023, the Group of Inter-American Humanitarian Demining Monitors in Colombia (GMI-CO), which represents the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) in the quality management of this activity, visited the Santa Bárbara Factory (FASAB ), of the Military Industry of Colombia (INDUMIL), in Sogamoso, Boyacá. Advisory officers and instructors on the subject in the country also participated in the activity, coordinated by the GMI-CO, as well as a delegation from the Comprehensive Action Program against Antipersonnel Mines of the Organization of American States (AICMA-OAS).
INDUMIL is linked to the Colombian Ministry of Defense. The delegation was received by its Commercial Vice President. Colonel Alex Eduardo Ramírez Ramos, and by the Director of the FASAB, Colonel Rubén Alonso Mogollón Araque. During the visit, his portfolio was presented, which includes explosives, weapons, ammunition, and goods for security, defense, productive and infrastructure sectors, such as emergency bridges.
Elements used in demining, manufactured at the FASAB, were exhibited, such as kits for training canines, tools for the detection and deactivation of improvised devices, as well as a Robotic Platform already used by the Colombian military in this activity, mitigating the risk. to the staff.
According to the Commercial Vice President of INDUMIL, “The company collaborates in the search for solutions to provide the Military Forces with the products and equipment necessary to guarantee the rule of law, democracy and legitimacy, such as robotic platforms for demining.”
Among the inter-American officers, nine Brazilians (four from the Navy and five from the Army) and one from the Mexican Army were in the FASAB. For the Head of the GMI-CO, Captain (Brazilian Marine) Leonel Mariano da Silva Júnior, “the visit allowed greater integration with Colombian efforts in humanitarian demining, in addition to contributing to possible uses of the technologies developed in Colombia , internationally.”
Inter-American Defense Board: Promoting and Strengthening Hemispheric Confidence and Security.
