On November 8, 2024, the Inter-American Monitor Group for Humanitarian Demining in Colombia (GMI-CO), a mission of the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) in support of the Comprehensive Action Program against Antipersonnel Mines of the Organization of American States (AICMA-OAS), visited two of the Colombian Army units most involved in the work against antipersonnel mines in the country, the Humanitarian Demining Brigade (BRDEH) and the National Center Against Explosive Devices and Mines (CENAM), based in the Canton of Caldas, in Bogotá.
For the current Head of GMI-CO, Captain (Brazilian Marine) Leonel Mariano da Silva Júnior, who will soon be relieved of his duties, “it was possible to update knowledge on the actions of these organizations that are fundamental to humanitarian demining in Colombia, as well as to present them to the new GMI-CO Monitors, including my replacement as Head of the Group, and to strengthen our ties of cooperation.”
Since 2006, 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 plagued the country's population for six decades. Currently, the Group is made up of officers from the Brazilian Navy, Brazilian Army and Mexican Army.
