US wants Colombia to buy $300M worth of advanced US jet fighters despite budget deficit

by Jack Norman July 20, 2019

The United States military has offered to sell Colombia 15 of the most advanced F-16 combat jets “to defend their airspace” against possible aggression from Venezuela, Foreign Policy reported Thursday.

Such a deal could cost close to $300 million, which would make it the largest arms purchase in Colombia’s history. It would strengthen the already deep relationship between the two countries’ militaries, according to US Air Force Major General Andrew Croft.

“Anytime we do a foreign military sale program with a nation, especially an airframe, it gives us a 40 to 50-year relationship,” Croft told Foreign Policy magazine. Croft is Commander of US Air Forces Southern, the air component of overall US Southern Command.

Colombia’s Defense Minister Guillermo Botero denied reports the government was considering the purchase of $367.4 million in anti-aircraft missiles in October last year, “because we don’t have the budget.”

More:
https://colombiareports.com/us-wants-colombia-to-buy-300m-worth-of-advanced-us-jet-fighters-despite-budget-deficit/

LBN:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142344093