Colombia is working to secure three MQ-9A Reaper drones from the United States, a move that would significantly expand the surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities its security forces already rely on in the fight against armed criminal groups. According to reporting by El Tiempo, the aircraft would initially arrive under a loan arrangement, though the deal still needs to clear pending permits and authorizations before a delivery date can be set.
The push for more drone capacity comes amid a wave of recent operations against armed organizations operating in Colombia, many of which have relied heavily on aerial surveillance, intelligence sharing, and movement tracking before troops or police are deployed. One recent example took place in Riohacha, in the northern department of La Guajira, where a police raid killed Naín Andrés Pérez Toncel—alias “Bendito Menor”—a leader of the paramilitary group Autodefensas Conquistadores de la Sierra Nevada, along with three of his associates. That operation reportedly benefited from intelligence cooperation with the United States.
The MQ-9A Reaper, built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, is a long-endurance unmanned aircraft originally developed from the Predator drone and first flown in 2001. While it’s typically used for reconnaissance—monitoring areas and tracking targets before ground operations begin—it can also be armed with missiles, giving Colombian forces added flexibility if the transfer goes through.
Want the full details? Check out the original report at El Tiempo.
Source: Los tres poderosos drones que Estados Unidos prepara para enviar a Colombia: ¿cuáles son? (eltiempo.com). English version produced with AI assistance.
Image: Abode of Chaos, BY 2.0 (via Openverse).