The molten material will be used for the production of steel, in the same way contributing to the notice economy and environmental protection.
In order to destroy the weapons found and confiscated in the course of military operations in recent years, the Military Forces carried out the smelting of 28,991.
This initiative is in compliance with Decree 2535 of 1993, which establishes the legal duty of the State to destroy confiscated material that is unusable, obsolete or in disuse and cannot be converted or used by the Military Forces.
These weapons, which include pistols, revolvers, rifles, carbines, machineguns, submachineguns, mortars and rocket launchers, were mainly found in military operations against organized armed groups and common crime, in order to prevent their use in operations against the life and well-being of Colombians.
This activity joins the social project Transforming Weapons into Hope, which together with the Gerdau Diaco steel company, in Tuta, Boyacá, seeks through the reuse of steel, to contribute materials for the construction of houses of social interest to which the community will have access, and which, together with the Military Forces, is contributing to the economy and environmental protection.
Since 1992, 646,684 weapons have already been destroyed, many of them used against human dignity and criminal activities. The material obtained of these processes has been used in the construction of monuments of historical memory, civil works and for houses of social interest.
With this activity, the Military Forces put out of circulation these weapons involved in crimes and operations against life, which contributes to the improvement of security and wellbeing conditions in urban and rural areas. In the same way, it contributes to the improvement of the quality of life of hundreds of families who can access a decent roof by obtaining houses of social interest.
