Petro's 'most economical' purchase ended up being the most expensive and triggered a U.S. veto
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The government of Gustavo Petro will finalize in the coming days the purchase of 16 Saab Gripen JAS 39 E/F fighter jets for $4.356 billion, in what is presented as "the most economical operation" in Colombian military history, but which ended up being the most expensive offer in Colombian history.
The contract will be financed with resources from Conpes document 4155 and Decree 1001/2025, and will include infrastructure, runway adaptation, and maintenance for 20 years. However, 98.2% of the amount corresponds solely to the value of the aircraft, which raises the cost per unit to more than $268 million, an unprecedented figure for the region.
Petro junto al dictador Nicolás Maduro
The most striking aspect is that the rejected offers were between $600 and $700 million cheaper, such as the French one with the Dassault Rafale CF3 and the American one with the Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70. Despite this, the Colombian government insisted that the agreement with Swedish company Saab was "the most favorable," justifying it by its supposed financing conditions.
The announcement triggered a diplomatic earthquake: The United States suspended military cooperation with Colombia on October 19, in response to the ideological shift and hostile policies of Petro's government toward Washington. Since the country's decertification in anti-narcotics matters, the U.S. administration has halted future sales of American weapons and components to the Colombian Armed Forces.
El Pollo Caravajal.
Tension escalated when Petro himself vetoed the purchase of systems with parts manufactured in the United States or Israel, a measure that puts the compatibility of the Gripen at risk, given that Israeli company Elbit Systems, through its Brazilian subsidiary AEL Sistemas, supplies part of the avionics for these fighter jets. With this decision, Colombia breaks decades of defense cooperation with Washington and Tel Aviv, meanwhile moving ever closer to the Bolivarian axis.
The operation was harshly criticized by defense analysts, who warn that the country is experiencing a severe economic and internal security crisis, with more than 22,000 members of armed criminal organizations operating in its territory. In this context, the purchase of fighter jets is perceived as a disproportionate and inefficient expense.
Adding to the controversy are the revelations of former Venezuelan intelligence chief Hugo "El Pollo" Carvajal, who confessed before U.S. justice that Chavismo illegally financed Petro and other leftist leaders in the region. The new contract with Saab, a company with strong ties to the government of Lula da Silva in Brazil, fuels suspicions about a regional network of opaque business deals driven by the São Paulo Forum.
Petro spends billions on foreign jets while Colombia sinks into insecurity and unemployment, breaking ties with its historic allies and consolidating its political and economic dependence on the Chavista axis and its partners.
