From December 18 to 21, 2023, the Group of Inter-American Humanitarian Demining Monitors in Colombia (GMI-CO), which represents the Inter-American Defense Board in the quality management of this activity in the country, supported the Comprehensive Action Program against Antipersonnel Mines of the Organization of American States (AICMA-OAS), deploying officers for the accreditation of soldiers from the Humanitarian Demining Engineer Brigade of the Colombian National Army.
The evaluations took place at the International Demining Center (CIDES), at the Tolemaida Military Fort, in Nilo (Cundinamarca), certifying 11 explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) level 1 operators. The new accredited will now be able to support humanitarian demining efforts throughout the country, contributing to the challenge of a Colombia free of suspected antipersonnel mines and improvised explosive devices.
For Mexican Army Colonel Vicente Gerónimo Gamboa Escobar, GMI-CO Monitor, “It was an honor to evaluate Colombian Army students from the EOD1 Course taught by CIDES in Tolemaida. The professionalism with which they are trained and the knowledge they acquire reinforce the common mission of the humanitarian demining network in Colombia, which is: saving lives.”
Since 2006, the GMI-CO has supported the efforts of the OAS and Colombian authorities to reduce the effects of antipersonnel mines and improvised explosive devices, which have penalized the population of this country for six decades. Currently, the Group is made up of officers from the Brazilian Navy, Brazilian Army and Mexican Army.
