The youngest son of Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos, joined the ranks of his country’s army on Tuesday.
“It is an honor as a Colombian that my son has now entered the ranks of our army. All honor to our armed forces,” President Santos announced on his Twitter account.
Santos said his experience in the armed forces “enriched me enormously” and he added that he has held on to the principles and values that were instilled in him while there, according to the president’s website. “I learned not only a love of the country, but discipline and teamwork. It is a training that hopefully all Colombians have a chance to receive because it is very valuable.”
The president’s son has become a cadet in the Navy, following in the footsteps of his father who said his time in the Naval forces “constituted perhaps the greatest honor of my career.”
All Colombian youths with some exceptions must join the ranks of the armed forces under conscription laws, of which president Santos is a supporter.