Learn about the role of the Brazilian Marines in Colombia
By First Lieutenant (T) Yan Carlôto – Brasília, DF
The damage caused by an explosive device cannot be underestimated. In a fraction of a second, this previously invisible threat can completely alter the course of a life or even end it suddenly. In Colombia, some 12,409 people have been victims of anti-personnel mines (APMs) and unexploded ordnance in 498 municipalities, according to data from the country’s government. In 2024 alone, seven such incidents were recorded.
The result of more than 60 years of conflict with paramilitary forces in the country, landmines have left an everlasting mark on the Colombian population. Around 81% of the victims have been injured and 19% have died in detonations, which means that approximately 1 in 5 cases results in death. Around 59% of those affected were members of the country’s security forces, but this reality affects even those who are not involved in the conflict. Among the civilians affected, 26% are children and adolescents.
Frigate Captain Leonardo Garcia has witnessed the reality caused by MAP in Colombia. “Every day at my workplace, I saw the young people who had been mutilated arrive at the military base hospital and I could see all the efforts to rehabilitate them so that they could use mechanical prostheses. I saw it all up close. The extent to which this affects a population is a problem that Brazilians know little about, but it is a reality in that country.” The officer says that in 2015 he took part in a mission to monitor humanitarian demining activities.
Humanitarian demining
According to the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS), the term “Humanitarian Demining” refers to “activities that lead to the removal of explosive ordnance hazards, including surveying, mapping, demining, marking, post-clearance documentation, community liaison in mine action and handing over cleared land for use. Demining can be carried out by different types of organizations, such as NGOs, commercial companies, national mine action teams or military units.”
In 1997, more than 90 countries, including Brazil, signed the “Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines”, known as the “Ottawa Convention”, an international agreement that completely bans the development, production, stockpiling, transfer and use of APL and demands their total destruction.
Brazil’s contribution is an effort to help reverse this situation. Initially, Brazil sent representatives to the Group of Inter-American Monitors (GMI), an organization of the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) and the Organization of American States (OAS), which provided technical advice and training to the Colombians.
In 2014, the Colombian Navy asked the Brazilian Navy (MB) to send Marines to create the necessary courses and documentation so that it could work as a Humanitarian Demining organization independent of the Colombian Army. In this way, they could absorb the knowledge and experience of our military personnel in these activities. To this end, the MB sent two officers to the “International Amphibious Training Center” in 2015.
The success achieved in the technical-professional relationship established between the militaries of the two countries encouraged the request to send a larger number of Brazilian military personnel, including from the Brazilian Army, to carry out instructional and advisory duties.
The results of this cooperation sparked interest in a partnership at the level of the Ministry of Defense (MD). This led to a progressive increase in the mission’s contingent and, in 2018, the Mission of Instructors and Advisors in Humanitarian Demining (MIADH) was created, which, under the aegis of the MD, operates in a large part of Colombian territory.
The Navy currently provides support via the OAS in the GMI and directly between the countries via the MD in the MIADH. The Naval Force has three military personnel in the GMI and five in the MIADH. In an unprecedented move, MB officers now head both groups at the same time.
Another step: first time in charge of MIADH
In a ceremony held last Friday (1st) at the Instituto de Cultura Brasil Colombia in Bogotá, the Navy took over for the first time as head of the Humanitarian Demining Instructors and Advisors Mission.
Representing Brazil in the role is Marine Captain Leandro Calabria Ventura dos Santos, whose CV includes participation as an international monitor in the Mine Clearance Assistance Mission in Central America (MARMINCA), in Nicaragua, in 2008, as well as having held various operational positions in the Marine Engineering Battalion, including Commander.
For Marine Captain (FN) Calabria, being the first Marine officer to be appointed Head of MIADH is a great responsibility, because, “in addition to ensuring that the excellence of the work carried out by my predecessors continues, I have a clear obligation to honor everything that was built by the pioneers of this Mission, former representatives of the Marine Engineering Battalion. In addition, I cannot fail to stress my satisfaction, as well as that of the other members of this mission, in collaborating with this work on the removal of landmines and explosive devices, which I believe is crucial at this time when the country is seeking post-conflict reconstruction.”
According to Commander Calabria, this work has produced significant results for Colombia and reinforces Brazil’s commitment to demining and regional security. “The Brazilian Navy is actively participating in this entire military effort, which aims to enable even the most remote places in Colombia to become safe areas for its citizens, declaring them free of suspected mines and explosive devices, contributing greatly to the social and economic development of our South American neighbor,” he said.
Brazil has already sent 59 military specialists to MIADH, including 21 from the Brazilian Marine Corps (CFN). They are working in Colombian territory to support Humanitarian Demining in three Training Centers in the Humanitarian Demining Brigade – the only one in the world created for this purpose – and in the Demining and Amphibious Engineers Battalion.
Training to help
“Build, sometimes destroy, but always support” is the motto of the Marine Engineering Battalion, one of the Military Organizations responsible for training MB soldiers to work in humanitarian demining. Preparation also takes place on the school benches of the Admiral Sylvio de Camargo Instruction Center.
For non-commissioned officers, the subject is studied in the specialization course and in the course to become a sergeant in the engineering corps. For officers, preparation begins at the Marine Engineering Battalion in one of the modules of the Technical Qualification Course in Combat Engineering.
According to Frigate Captain (FN) Michel Silva Camelo, the current commander of the Marine Engineering Battalion, “in addition to school, training on board the Battalion, exercises throughout the annual training cycle and other courses in the Navy, in other forces and even abroad, complement and improve the technical capacity and professionalism of the military, allowing them to carry out intense technical cooperation, giving theoretical and practical instructions, training and recycling knowledge”.
Frigate Captain (FN) Silva was one of the Brazilian military personnel sent in 2015 to contribute to Humanitarian Demining in Colombia and strengthen the relationship between the countries.
Source: Agência Marinha de Notícias *** Translated by DEFCOPress FYI Team ***