Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos has announced that soldiers will be able to receive a family bonus and police will be eligible for a veteran experience bonus starting January 2015, a presidential statement said on Tuesday.
The family subsidy will be given to professional soldiers and marines who have a family to support, while only ranking police officials will be able to receive the veteran experience bonus.
Santos spoke from the armed forces command in the country’s capital Bogota by video conference to announce the bonuses alongside Minister of Defense Juan Carloz Pinzon and several generals, including the Director of National Police Rodolfo Palomino.
“The debt the country owes to it’s soldiers is infinite” Santos said, adding that “taking care of our troops and their families will be a priority.”
In regards to the ongoing peace talks between the Colombian government and the country’s largest guerrilla group, the FARC, Santos declared that in no way is the role of the military and police forces on the agenda, and that they will still be dedicated to security in a post-conflict Colombia, Vanguardia reported.
It is unclear how much the bonuses will increase the monthly pay of soldiers.
Sources
- Hoy restituimos subsidios familiar para soldados y infantes de la Marina y prima de permanencia en la Policia (Presidente de la Republica)
- Santos restituye dos primas para la fuerza publica (Vanguardia)