Colombia asks US to investigate unauthorized resale of German-made weapons
Colombia asks US to investigate unauthorized resale of German-made weapons
Jul 9, 2014 posted by Tim Hinchliffe
The Colombian government has officially asked the United States to certify the origins of some 65,000 weapons that were sold to Colombia since 2007, national media reported on Tuesday.
In particular, concern has been raised over a batch of some 64,485 German Sig Sauer SP 2022 model pistols, which were apparently sold to Colombia’s National Police between 2006 and 2012.
German law currently prohibits the sale of weapons to countries embroiled in armed conflict and to security forces accused of widespread human rights violations, out of fear that said weapons could be used for “internal repression,” according to Colombia’s El Tiempo newspaper.
While that would prohibit German arms dealers from doing business with the Colombian state, the German government had allowed the export of Sig Sauer weapons to the United States on the condition that the US Department of Defense not resell them.
Now, allegations are circulating that the US government did precisely that, after a German-manufactured SP 2022 pistol was found in the hands of a young Colombian police officer in May. Since then, almost 65,000 similar weapons have been discovered within the National Police.
More:
http://colombiareports.co/us-investigated-reselling-unauthorized-german-made-weapons-colombia/