Colombian President Gustavo Petro has sharply criticised the use of secondhand military aircraft by the nation's armed forces, following a transport plane crash that killed at least 66 soldiers.
The incident, which occurred on Monday in southwestern Colombia, has prompted an official investigation into the disaster.
Writing on X, President Petro questioned the efficacy of such donations, stating: "An army cannot defend its own people with crappy gifts."
He specifically referenced the Hercules CJ-130, an aircraft donated by the United States, adding: "They give away whatever is useless to them — and the 'gift' ends up costing more than buying it new."
The military transport plane crashed shortly after take-off in Colombia’s Putumayo province.
The Defence Ministry confirmed that while 66 soldiers perished, 57 others were rescued alive from the remote crash site in Puerto Leguizamo.
Survivors are currently receiving treatment for their injuries in the capital, Bogota, and other locations.
The Hercules CJ-130 was part of a cooperation agreement with the US in 2020, which also included two other used Hercules planes. Despite its age, the aircraft underwent a detailed overhaul in 2023, during which its engines were inspected and key components replaced.
Erich Saumeth, a Colombian aviation expert and military analyst, said that investigators must now determine why the four-engine Hercules failed so shortly after takeoff.
“I don’t think this plane crashed because of a lack of good parts,” Saumeth said.
Former Colombian President Iván Duque, who was in office when the Hercules was donated, urged Petro in a message on X to “calm down and breathe.”
“You should conduct a rigorous investigation that looks at how much weight the plane was carrying compared to the length of the runway,” Duque wrote.
The airport in Puerto Leguizamo has a short runway that is just 1.2 kilometers (less than one mile) in length. Officials said that the plane crashed in a field less than 2 kilometers away from the airport.
Petro has seized on the accident to promote what he calls his longtime campaign to modernize planes and other equipment used by his country’s military, saying those efforts have been blocked by “bureaucratic difficulties” and suggesting that some officials should be held accountable.
“If civilian or military administrative officials are not up to the challenge, they must be removed,” Petro said Monday on X.
Critics of the president have pointed out that there has been a lack of execution of military contracts under Petro’s administration, as well as fewer flight hours for military planes due to cuts in Colombia’s defense budget.
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