Colombia’s Defense Minister, Pedro Sánchez, emphatically stated that no public money was lost in the controversial contract for the maintenance of the MI-17 helicopters, after irregularities emerged
They identify the 15 occupants of the Mi-17 helicopter, including wives and children of FAP personnel regarding alleged irregularities in the contractual process.
Through his account on the social network X, Sánchez assured: “Clear accounts. Not a single peso of public funds was lost”, and added that the State not only recovered all the resources that had been advanced to the contracting company, but also received additional income from sanctions.
According to the minister, the insurance company executed the guarantees and consigned 20.07 million dollars to the National Treasury, which means that the committed resources are fully covered, in addition to additional income from sanctions that already total 6.49 million dollars, and another 2.46 million in the process of collection.
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The contract, which was signed on December 31, 2024 with the American company Vertol Company Systems, aimed at the maintenance and recovery of six MI-17 helicopters, aircraft used by the Public Force. During the execution, three aircraft were successfully returned to service, but in August 2025, anomalies were detected in the fulfillment of some contractual obligations, which led to sanctioning processes and the intervention of the insurer to protect public resources. Minister Sánchez also informed that all the documentation of the process was sent to the Comptroller General’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office and the Prosecutor’s Office so that the corresponding investigations can be carried out, in compliance with the State’s control and transparency mechanisms. The public statement came after a journalistic investigation that questioned the manner and decisions behind the selection of the contracting company, including alternatives that could have involved direct negotiations with the United States.
