This year, the figure of about 50 thousand firearms and traumatic weapons destroyed will be reached. The raw material obtained will be transformed into materials for the manufacture of steel and other elements for the construction of bridges, houses, schools, accommodation and military installations
As a contribution to the consolidation of peace and security of the inhabitants, and to contribute to the economy and the protection of the environment, by next December fifth, at the facilities of Acerías PazdelRío, the Military Forces will carry out the destruction and transformation of about 23,500 firearms that have been found or handed over by the community.
These elements will be converted into vital raw materials for the construction of projects that benefit the inhabitants and the Military Forces. The result of this transformation will become materials for the consolidation of social projects, generating well-being. These works will be reflected in stirrups, straps, figured steel, bolts, trusses, corrugated rod, electro-welded mesh, wires among others, necessary for works such as bridges, roads, schools, colleges, water treatment plants, bases and military accommodation among others.
Within the framework of the Destroying Fear, building hope initiative and with the objective of transforming the weapons found and confiscated in the framework of military and police operations in recent years, as well as those handed over voluntarily by people, the Military Forces, with the support of the Attorney General's Office and the Paz del Río Steel Mills company, will carry out the smelting of about 23,500 of them on Thursday, December 5, 2024 at the Industrial Plant in Belencito, Nobsa, Boyacá.
This smelter will have a symbolic event at the steel plant's facilities, in compliance with Decree 2535 of 1993, which establishes the legal duty of the State to destroy confiscated material that, among other reasons, cannot be converted or used by the Military Forces.
Among the material that will be destroyed are firearms such as revolvers, pistols, rifles, carbines, machineguns, submachineguns, mortars and grenade launchers of different calibers, as well as accessories for those weapons, which were found by troops mainly in military and police operations against organized armed groups and common crime, in order to prevent their use in operations against the life, safety and well-being of Colombians.
On this occasion, traumatic weapons will in the same way be included, which would have been illegally modified by criminals to cause greater damage and lethality. In addition, these types of items are already considered firearms.
The weapons are already in the process of being prepared to be transported by train of the municipality of Puente Aranda in Bogotá. There they will be shipped in wooden boxes, complying with the most rigorous security and custody protocols. On board the locomotive, a group of soldiers will be working to secure the movement, as well as during the route the troop will be at strategic points.
Destroying fear, building hope is a social project that is part of the institutional commitment to contribute, through the reuse of steel, in a significant contribution to the defense of life, the protection of the environment and the economy.
More than 670 thousand short- and long-range firearms have already been destroyed since 1992, many of them used against human dignity and in criminal activities. The material obtained of these smelting procedures has been used in the construction of monuments of historical memory, civil works, agricultural tools, for houses of social interest, among others.
Through this activity, the Military Forces, with the support of Acerías PazdelRío, take out of circulation these weapons involved in crimes and operations against life, contributing to the improvement of security and wellbeing conditions in urban and rural areas.
Source: Strategic Communications - General Command of the military forces
