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Colombia The Development of the Modern Armed Forces
The national exhaustion from the violence of the long
civil war
helped form the basis for the establishment of a modern,
professional military. The administration of Rafael Reyes,
who came
to office in 1904, included plans for the reorganization
of the
armed forces among its early initiatives to revitalize the
country.
The government's stated objective was to provide for
national
defense, a need that appeared pressing in 1905 when border
tensions
with neighboring Venezuela escalated. An equally important
though
less publicized goal was the creation of a nonpartisan
professional
institution that would be capable of maintaining domestic
peace.
Reyes's efforts to build a professional institution helped
consolidate bipartisan support for the government and
contributed
to the maintenance of political stability.
Data as of December 1988
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