After boycotting Israeli arms… Colombia produces its first assault rifle

After halting purchases of weapons from Israel — and then from the United States — Colombia on Monday unveiled its first assault rifle entirely designed and manufactured on national soil.

The new rifle is intended to replace the Israeli Galil, which has been assembled in the South American country since the 1990s. In 2024, leftist President Gustavo Petro stopped buying arms from Israel in protest against the war in the Gaza Strip.

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Local media reports indicate that Colombia had been producing about 30,000 Galil rifles annually — weapons widely used in operations against rebel movements and drug-trafficking gangs active across large parts of the country.

On Monday, Agence France-Presse visited Indumil, the state-owned arms and munitions manufacturer in Suesca, near Bogotá, where the new rifles are to be produced.

According to Indumil’s director general, retired Colonel Javier Camargo, the new weapon — made of steel and polymer — is 15% lighter and 25% cheaper than the Galil. Colonel Camargo said the goal is to manufacture 400,000 rifles within five years “to gradually replace the current weapons in the armed forces,” thereby enabling Colombia to achieve self-sufficiency.

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In mid-September, President Petro suspended all weapon orders from the United States in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to remove Colombia from the list of partner countries in the fight against drugs. Petro argued that “the army will be in a better state if it buys or produces its weapons with our own resources; otherwise it will not be an army with national sovereignty.”

Experts nevertheless express skepticism about Colombia’s ability to scale up production. Prior to adopting the Galil, Colombian forces used the German-made G3 rifle.

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