Reuters:
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia has no immediate plans to buy an anti-aircraft missile defense system to modernize its air force due to budget constraints, the defense minister said on Tuesday. Military sources said last week the country was looking into the possibility of acquiring a system, though President Ivan Duque said the eventual purchase of equipment would not be part of an arms race.
“We are not going to invest 1.1 trillion pesos ($367.4 million) in anti-aircraft defense for the time being, because among other reasons, we do not have the budget,” Defense Minister Guillermo Botero said during an appearance before Congress.
Sources told Reuters last week that manufacturers from the United States, France and Israel were in the running to provide the system. Before the global fall in oil prices, Colombia made some 20 percent of its national income from crude sales. The economy is still recovering from the fall.
