At the end of June, an aircraft carrier from the United States Navythis was confirmed in dialogue with The W the commander of the National Navy, the Admiral Francisco Cubideswho added that “The Southern Command has defined that, through the units of the fourth fleet, deploy a naval task group”.
“More than 50 aircraft will be in the Pacific, we are planning and we are going to carry out an operation (…) at the end of this month they will arrive near Buenaventura to carry out operations with the Colombian Navy, it will allow this important operation to be carried out, it is also important that the audience knows that the Air Force will be part of this exercise .”
Furthermore, the admiral added that “All this is achieved because we have agreements to interoperate between navies, tactics, procedures to promote atmospheric safety“It is a job that allows us to maintain ourselves as a Navy of international recognition.”
However, he clarified that these exercises with the United States They have nothing to do with the arrival of Russian ships and submarines to Cuba.
“No, these types of operations have been carried out since 2017. The Navies meet to interoperate, we are taking part in operations that allow the union of efforts between the Navies of the region, it is something permanent. We are going to carry out naval, national and multinational exercises, combat maneuvers, search and rescue, etc.,” he said.
Drug seizures by the Colombian Navy
Admiral Cubides also explained why cocaine seizures have increased by more than 30% in the last year.as stated by the Minister of Defense, Iván Velásquez.
“We are with all our capabilities and the order of the president. It has been a blockade not only in the Pacific, but also in the Caribbean because this year the seizures have been much greater, last year only the Navy managed to seize 393 tons of cocaine, this year to date we have more than 230 “.
President Gustavo Petro highlighted that the National Navy has managed to seize “like no other force in the world, shipments full of tons and tons of the instruments of the illicit economy. Here a record has been broken, not only national; In the years that have passed, this is the one with the largest seizure, but it is a world record.”
For this reason, He assured that his Government classified it as essential to carry out a strategy for the security of the national territory.
“You have achieved more than we imagined and yet even more must be achieved. We must cleanse the State of corruption at all levels, we must ensure that the public force can be the lighthouse that illuminates society as a whole,” the president stated.
Navy Commander provided details of the arrival of a US aircraft carrier to Colombia
