Colombian Defense Minister Gabriel Silva announced that “more than fifteen” countries are now buying weapons from Colombia.
Speaking at the launch of a new state-of-the-art assault rifle, retired Colonel Carlos Enrique Villarreal, who is head of the nation’s weapons industry, said that Colombia is positioning itself as an “efficient and profitable” producer of weapons, “due to the constant innovation in the development of projects in line with the current or future needs of customers.”
The new Israeli-designed ACE Galil rifle is considered to be one of the best assault rifles in the world, and Colombia is one of just two countries outside Israel to produce the gun.
“This modern and new gun will allow our military forces, police and state security agencies to improve the effectiveness in combating generators of violence [which are] affecting the country’s security,” officials said.
The Galil is manufactured by Colombian state-run company, Indumil, which is capable of producing 44,000 of the new rifles each year.