The latest decision is Decree 0182 of 2026, which centralizes the provision of health services in approximately 45% of the country under the administration of Nueva EPS, a mixed public-private company currently under government intervention. As part of the measure, the insurer would receive 2,84 million reassigned members.

According to the government, the decree seeks to modify the flow of resources within the system so that funds would be paid from the government directly to healthcare providers, such as hospitals and clinics. This change would limit the traditional role of the Entidades Prestadoras de Salud (EPS), the system’s intermediaries, whose reduction has been one of the Petro administration’s key policy goals.

President Petro has publicly defended this approach. In a message posted on the social media platform X, he said that EPS entities “devour 70 trillion pesos annually and demonstrably benefit the wealth of their owners.” The president has also blamed these institutions for the crisis affecting the health sector over the past decade, arguing that during that time “the theft of health resources multiplied, and 117 EPS were liquidated to avoid paying their debts.”

The decree has sparked debate in the media. Some reports, including those published by the outlet Infobae after reviewing the official document, described the measure as a “mass transfer of patients and territorial reorganization of the health system.” However, the Ministry of Health rejected that interpretation and clarified that the measure “does not involve an arbitrary transfer of users, but rather a technical step aimed at correcting structural failures in the insurance model”.

In a statement, the ministry explained that “when an EPS lacks operational or financial capacity in a given territory, the state is authorized to adopt temporary mechanisms to ensure healthcare access for users.” The ministry also stated that the goal of the decree is to guarantee effective, fair, dignified and continuous access to healthcare services across the country, particularly in regions where geographic dispersion and low population density have historically complicated service delivery.

Political and administrative context

The debate comes amid a broader process of administrative interventions within the system. According to reports cited by the newspaper El Colombiano, “over the past three years the government, through the Superintendencia Nacional de Salud, has intervened in seven EPS,” removing their management from private owners and placing them under state-appointed administrators.

The government has used this context to justify administrative measures such as those included in the decree, arguing that several insurers have demonstrated structural operational weaknesses. At the same time, the legislative debate over a comprehensive health reform has not been completely closed. According to the same outlet, the government is still exploring the possibility of reviving the reform bill through an appeal filed by Senator Fabián Díaz. In the meantime, the administration has moved forward with changes through decrees, regulatory resolutions and decisions by the health regulator.

Despite the publication of the decree, its implementation still requires additional administrative steps. According to analysis cited by Infobae, “the transfer of members will not occur automatically, as it depends on the Superintendencia Nacional de Salud issuing administrative acts that update the territorial scope of the EPS”. This means the reorganization of the system could unfold gradually once the required regulatory procedures are completed.

A list of zones at high risk for yellow fever in Colombia is available on the Colombian Ministry of Health’s website: https://www.minsalud.gov.co/Regiones/Paginas/-Viajeros,-a-vacunarse-contra-la-fiebre-amarilla-.aspx

Actions to Take:

• Avoid travel to Huila, Colombia.
• If traveling to Huila, Colombia consult your medical provider for advice on proper precautions to take when traveling to a zone with high risk of yellow fever.

As a courtesy to readers, this message has been reprinted in its entirety as issued by the US Embassy in Bogotá.

Assistance:

U.S. Embassy Bogota, Colombia
Tel. +57-1-275-2000 or 601-275-2000
acsbogota@state.gov
https://co.usembassy.gov/

U.S. Consular Agency, Barranquilla
conagencybarranquilla@state.gov

U.S. Department of State – Consular Affairs
1-888-407-4747 or 1-202-501-4444

Colombia Country Information

Enroll in Smart Traveler Enrollment Program to receive security updates

Follow the embassy on Facebook and Twitter

Photo: Colombian Inspector General Margarita Cabello has summoned the involved parties to a technical meeting in hopes of resolving the conflict. (Photo credit: Office of the Inspector General of Colombia)

Colombian Inspector General Margarita Cabello indicated that resolving this issue will require a series of meetings “for the purposes of achieving points where the best interest, which is the benefit of citizens, especially those affiliated with Sanitas, can be resolved quickly.”The first meeting was planned for November 9, but it was canceled after Health Minister Alfonso Jaramillo questioned the representative assigned for that meeting by the inspector general. 

While the dispute between the firms has been simmering longer, the crisis came to a head when Cruz Verde claimed on October 30 that Sanitas, which in total serves more than five million people, owes the pharmacy around $100 million USD that has been accumulating gradually over several years, month by month, for certain medications and supplies. For this reason, beginning November 15, the pharmacy has said it will stop supplying Sanitas members with these medications that are included in the nation’s Health Basic Plan.

Regarding the deadline, Sanitas said in a statement that it has reached an agreement with Audifarma, pharmaceutical management firm, to distribute these medicines and avert the feared crisis.

The Health Basic Plan (PBS) generally dictates which medications are covered and paid for by the public system and therefore mandated to be distributed by the private administrators. By contrast, non-PBS medications and supplies are those that are not included in the plan. 

Although the list is updated regularly, broadly speaking, the non-PBS medicines, supplies, or technologies fall outside of the core mission of prevention, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation or palliation of disease. Since they are not covered by the government, these items must be first authorized by the health providers before pharmacies distribute them to the patients.

The list is extensive, but some non-PBS items include diapers, vitamins, supplements, contact lenses, wheelchairs, orthopedic insoles, sunscreen, and certain skin remedy creams.

According to Sanitas, the reason for the debt is because the Colombian government  has had a payment delay of $619,000 USD in the maximum budgets, which are the payments that the state makes in advance to companies for medications not included in the Basic Health Plan.

“Unfortunately,” wrote Sanitas in a statement, “the issue of maximum budgets with which this decision is related is one of the reasons why we have been alerting the government for months about the importance of finding solutions to the current situation without, until now, having had a response in this regard.”

Colombian Health Minister Downplayed the Financial Struggles of EPS Providers

In August, Colombia’s health minister downplayed the claims from the nation’s largest public EPS health coverage providers — including Sanitas, along with Sura and Compensar — that they are suffering a financial crisis that could affect the provision of services to patients if the government does not increase the budget they are allocated to fulfill their mission.

“They want to make a storm in a glass of water, and we cannot accept that either,” said Guillermo Alfonso Jaramillo, head of the Ministry of Health (MinSalud), during an August press conference. “Except for some debts from the former government related to COVID issues, we can say that we do not have financial obligations to them. Now, they tell us about losses, but they never told us about the profits they had in 2020 and 2021.”

Despite the comments, Jaramillo did commit in August to set up technical tables with the EPS providers and other industry stakeholders. As a result of the discussion, Jaramillo announced that his ministry will transfer another $2.4 million USD to the Sanitas, Sura and Compensar, the three organizations that sent him the missive, until the end of the year. 

He agreed to this compromise despite, as he pointed out, the fact that the government had already distributed more than $3.3 million USD to the companies.

EPS Providers Claim Claimed that Funding Was Insufficient

The companies expressed their concerns in a formal letter to Jaramillo on July 27 that was signed by top executives of the three largest EPS providers: Pablo Otero, general manager of EPS Sura; Andrés Barragán, health director of EPS Compensar; and Juan Pablo Rueda, president of EPS Sanitas. They stated that their companies are suffering major losses because the public funding they rely on is insufficient to attend to the 13 million combined patients they have, a total that represents more than half of the patients affiliated to the Health Contributory Regime (22 million in total). 

This regime covers the people who work and make their payments for health care. This is the opposite of the Health Subsidized Regime, in which the state is the one that assumes this obligation (they are 24 million Colombians).

The text attracted the attention of three main topics. The first critical request is that the value of the Capitation Payment Unit (UPC) is insufficient to meet the real demands of sick people. This value corresponds to a calculation that purportedly responds to what it costs each EPS to care for each patient. Once this figure is defined, the government gives them money that corresponds to the number of people the EPS have under its responsibility.

Regarding this subject, the health companies have pointed out that the cost for taking care of a patient with cancer is not equal to a patient who has temporary food poisoning, for example, in terms of medical staff, equipment, laboratory tests, bed occupation, etc.

The second element is the equitable redistribution of resources given that some EPS have to attend to a greater number of cases of serious illnesses and others present better financial results because their patients do not suffer from such catastrophic ailments, so the expenses are lower. As an example, the letter senders assured that they spend $102 USD for every $100 USD that they receive for this concept.

And the last one is the payment of maximum budget debts, recoveries, COVID related conditions, licenses and disabilities and pending compensation processes. Concerning this point, the Health and Social Protection Ministry office promised that the money is on its way in the next few weeks.

Petro’s Quest for Health Reform and Potential Changes to the Public Healthcare System

President Gustavo Petro campaigned on a promise of reform. The health system was one of his most important areas to change, and he has been attempting to make progress in this area for the whole year since he took office. So far, however, things have been moving slowly and he has lost a lot of political support to enact any changes due to a series of controversies and a major defeat for his party all across the country in local and regional elections.

Nevertheless, the president has put forth a reform package, and some of the ideas have gained some support. The one thing many people — even his political opponents — agree on is that the system is in need of improvements.

While it’s hard to know what the final form of any reform may be, at this moment, in what has been discussed in Congress, it is known the health provider companies would change their names to Health and Life Managers. If the health reform were to be approved, according to the text, the proposal is that the money for the patients would be transferred directly to the Health Care Institutions (known by Colombians as IPS), such as clinics, hospitals and health care facilities.

This name change responds to the fact that, per arguments from the Petro administration, the EPS unnecessarily delays the payments of the funds they receive from the government and this affects the users’ attention. Under the reform, the System of Social Security in Health (ADRES), the state entity that is currently in charge of transferring the budget, would instead transfer funds without intermediaries and, supposedly, this adjustment in the procedure would end the pending debts the EPS providers have with the IPS.

If the reform were to pass, the current EPS would have two years to become Health and Life Managers, and the Superintendence of Health (SuperSalud) would have the power to authorize which Health and Life Managers comply with the government’s requirements and would have the green light to operate.

The Current State of Colombia’s Healthcare System

Despite a desire for improvement from most stakeholders in Colombia, the national healthcare system is generally regarded well compared to its regional peers and many critics have campaigned against the president’s reform proposals, saying that they could push the country toward economic instability due to its anti-private practice measures.

According to a survey conducted by Cifras y Conceptos early this year, 80% of the Colombians indicated that they do not agree with the elimination of the current health providers, and more than half (51%) do not agree that the national government should manage the entities that provide healthcare.

Finally, the Colombian health users differ with Gustavo Petro’s argument that assures that the state would manage health services more efficiently than private firms. In this matter, 85% of those consulted disagree with governors or mayors at the national level having any type of interference in the territorial health funds, as it could exacerbate the menace of corruption among politicians.

The boom times for Colombian pot came to an end due to the onset of the War on Drugs—which President Nixon officially declared in 1971— and the rapid rise of indoor cannabis farming in the fifty states. Today, with nearly half of U.S. states having legalized recreational consumption, and with the end of federal prohibition perhaps in sight, is there any chance that Colombian cannabis can regain its former glory days—this time legally— in the American market? Much depends on if, when, and how federal prohibition is repealed, but also on Colombia’s capacity to reform its own byzantine drug laws.

A law approved in 1986 (no. 30) defined any quantity up to 20 grams of marijuana as the “minimum dose” for personal consumption, and it applied a series of criminal charges for its possession. In 1994, however, Colombia’s Constitutional Court ruled that no individual could be penalized for carrying said minimum dose. However, the law, which is still in effect, makes it a criminal offense to possess or carry a narcotic, “whatever its quantity, for the purpose of distribution or sale.”

As I wrote in Foreign Policy, the minimum dose rule provides a good example of Colombia’s trademark legalism: unless one grows cannabis oneself (more on which later), the only way to obtain a legal gram for personal consumption—or 20—is by buying it, illegally.

Eventually, local drug warriors would have their say. In 2009, former president Alvaro Uribe passed a Legislative Act (no. 2) which altered Article 49 of the constitution so as to prohibit “the possession and consumption of narcotic or psychotropic substances, unless prescribed by a medical doctor.” The following year, Uribe’s government introduced a bill (Law 248) that sought to regulate the legislative act and criminalize the minimum dose. The objective, professors Hernando Londoño and Adrian Restrepo argue, was to bolster the war against the drug cartels by targeting internal consumption. This latter initiative failed and the minimum dose was maintained. Nonetheless, by enshrining drug prohibition in the constitution, Uribe made any future reform of the country’s drug laws extremely difficult.

In 2015, when the government of former president Juan Manuel Santos sought to legalize medical marijuana, it had to resort to a decree (2467) that expanded on Law 30 of 1986. The decree regulated cannabis production for “strictly medical or scientific purposes.” While legalizing the medical use of marijuana was a step in the right direction, the local industry has been saddled by red tape.

This editorial originally ran June 15 in the Cato Institute Blog. It is generously shared under a Creative Commons license. The original can be read here.

For instance, physicians still are allowed to prescribe only manufactured cannabis‐​based products, not dry cannabis flower. Also, the use of CBD—a multibillion‐​dollar industry in the U.S.—is not allowed in Colombian food, beverages, supplements, or veterinary products. Since the local market has not been allowed to develop, local cannabis firms—including a few that raised funds in the U.S. and are even listed on the Nasdaq—are on the verge of bankruptcy. Potential investors, meanwhile, are eyeing other markets, and rightly so.

The black market, however, has thrived, not least because the 2015 decree allowed the “self‐​cultivation” of up to 20 cannabis plants for personal use without a license from the Health Ministry. Since each plant can produce around a kilo of marijuana, massive amounts of pot are grown legally, only to be transported and sold illegally. Which is to say, Colombian lawmakers have created the worst of all worlds for consumers and legal producers alike, this in spite of the industry’s immense potential to generate profits, jobs, and tax revenues.

But Colombia’s Congress now has a chance to unravel the marijuana muddle. A new Legislative Act, introduced by Representative Juan Carlos Losada, a member of the Liberal Party, seeks to insert an exception for adult, recreational cannabis consumption into Article 49 of the constitution. This would create a legal market to buy, sell, and distribute marijuana in Colombia. After being approved in seven debates in Congress, Losada’s project faces one final hurdle in the Senate on Thursday, June 15.

Legislators should approve the measure. Colombian conservatives should keep in mind that extreme leftist Gustavo Petro, the current president, did not bring forth the initiative (despite his supposedly revolutionary stance against the drug war). Hence, supporting marijuana legalization does not involve supporting the government. Center‐​right politicians also should remember the words of the great Alvaro Gómez, the conservative leader who warned as early as 1976 that the war on drugs was doomed to failure.

Regulating marijuana use for adults, on the other hand, implies seizing the local market from violent, criminal gangs and leaving it in the hands of the legal, regulated businesses that can assure quality, safety, and transparency. Eventually, when the United States and other countries open their markets to cannabis products from other latitudes, Colombia can regain its standing as a global exporting powerhouse. Far more than foreign aid handouts, the country could use a legal marijuana bonanza.

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Colombia has Monkeypox.

The Colombian national health institute has confirmed at least 5 cases, all traced to male Colombians returning from Europe. The government has urged calm and stated that Monkeypox is not as contagious as COVID or other communicable diseases. So far most cases are in Bogotá, though there is at least one case in Medellín. Patients are said to be in quarantine.

El @MinSaludCol y el @INSColombia confirman tres casos de viruela símica en Colombia. Claudia Cuéllar, directora de Epidemiología y Demografía del @MinSaludCol, entrega detalles.

ℹ️https://t.co/NZ5ruMdh6X pic.twitter.com/6mq8ZwFRcF

— MinSaludCol (@MinSaludCol) June 24, 2022

Tuluá Prison Fire

At least 52 are dead from a grisly fire in a medium security prison in Tuluá, about 90 minutes north of Cali, Colombia’s third largest city. The prison, built to house 1,000 inmates had 1,200 at the time of the conflagration. inmates, but is built with a capacity for just a thousand.

At least 52 men have died in the fire, with some patients arriving at burn units in Cali with 100 percent of their body burned. So far, not many details have been released, but it appears stacks of mattresses were set aflame in either a prison riot or an escape attempt. President Ivan Duque issued a statement of condolence for the families; so has President elect Gustavo Petro, who went on to criticize the Colombian prison system as structured for revenge instead of rehabilitation.

Andrés Breaks Up With Bonnie

We reported in Finance Colombia on Tropical Storm Bonnie that was headed towards the Southern Caribbean Coast and on towards the Colombian Archipelago of San Andrés and Providencia. The good news is that the storm has passed without causing major damage. The governor of the Caribbean archipelago with a population of 60,000, Everth Hawkins reports 22 homes damaged, but emphasizes San Andrés remains fully open for travel and tourism.

Truth

The Truth Commission, set up under the 2016 peace accords released its final 800 page report last week. Among many other recommendations, it calls for a reframing of the war on drugs, a stronger commitment to human rights by the Colombian defense forces and government, an end to aerial fumigation of coca plants with glyphosate, and an end to the military draft of young men.

The commission also called the rebel insurgents to account for their vast and heinous crimes, such as kidnapping, raping or forcing into combat an estimated 34,000 children.. All told, the commission says approximately 260,000 Colombian civilian noncombatants died during the armed insurgency, that still continues today under antagonists such as the ELN and the FARC dissidents who refused to demobilize and accept the peace deal.

President Elect Gustavo Petro says he will incorporate the truth commission’s recommendations into his administration’s policy. On the other hand, outgoing President Ivan Duque made sure he was out of the country when the report was presented. Duque campaigned against the peace accords, and during his administration, did not make its implementation a priority.

The report’s recommendations are not legally binding, but the report is intended to create a historical record, and present guidance to prevent such atrocities from happening in the future.

Seeking To Calm Fears

There is a little less panic in certain sectors as President Elect Gustavo Petro has appointed some notable non-radicals to his upcoming administration.

Petro has named former senator, one-time presidential candidate, conservative party member, and peace negotiator Alvaro Leyva Durán as the new foreign minister. A left-wing President appointing a conservative party senator to head foreign relations sends a strong message to Colombians & foreign governments that there may be less crazy in store than people feared.

The UN’s former undersecretary of economics and social affairs, José Antonio Ocampo will be the new finance minister.

One of Petro’s opponents for the presidency, the centrist academic Alejandro Gaviria has been named as part of Petro’s transition team, and many think he may be named as Education Minister. Gaviria served as health minister during the presidency of former president Juan Manuel Santos.

Additionally, all travelers, including Colombians and foreign visitors must present a negative COVID-19 PCR test result, issued within 72 hours before the time and date of boarding the cruise vessel.

View the Ministry of Health’s Resolution 2383 (Spanish) by clicking here.

The proof of vaccination must be presented either in paper format or digitally, and the certificate must include the individual’s full name, date of vaccination, name of the vaccine administered, and the number of doses administered.

Consult the following link for a list of the COVID-19 vaccines accepted for entry to Colombia: https://www.minsalud.gov.co/sites/rid/Lists/BibliotecaDigital/RIDE/DE/COM/lista-vacunas-covid-19.pdf

These entry requirements are in addition to – and do not replace – the existing “Check-Mig” requirement for both inbound and outbound travelers. All travelers must complete the online Check-Mig form between 72 hours and 1 hour prior to arrival in, or departure from, Colombia. Carry a print-out of the form and be ready to show the electronic version on your mobile device at Colombian immigration.

Photo: Loren Moss

In 2020, 184 medical formulations and 22 health procedures were covered, but Resolution 2292 of 2021, issued by Colombia’s Health Ministry December 23, adds 654 more medical procedures to the reimbursement list. The Colombian health ministry says that 97% of coded procedures carried out in Colombia are now covered, along with 309 clinical laboratory tests.

Added to the list are procedures for the management of hearing loss, for dental care and oral rehabilitation, state-of-the-art radiotherapy for the management of cancer, procedures for the care of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, neuropsychology procedures, organ transplants, eye disease care, and in-utero fetus interventions.

Active pharmaceutical ingredients covered have gone from 459 to 1059, representing almost 35,000 unique drug codes (CUMS), or coverage for 89% of all unique drug codes prescribed in Colombia.

To download the entire resolution (Spanish) click here.

“Medications are included for pathologies with a great impact on the health status of the Colombian population, such as arterial hypertension, kidney disease, plus pharmacological options for different types of cancer: gliomas, sarcoma, myelomas, lymphomas, leukemia, melanoma, skin cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, head and neck cancer, colon and rectal cancer, among others,” said the Deputy Minister of Social Protection, María Andrea Godoy Casadiego (above photo).

The deputy minister said the expanded list now includes more medications for respiratory, dermatological, cardiovascular diseases, more contraceptive options for women, medications for pain management, osteoarthritis, mental illnesses, medications for use in ophthalmology, immunodeficiencies, antibiotics, plus pharmaceutical formulations for special populations such as children and older adults, and more combinations at fixed doses that improve adherence to treatment and allow fewer doses.

Medical Marijuana Covered

Medical marijuana derivatives are included in the expansive resolution for the first time, meaning that the Colombian government mandates EPS coverage for prescribed CBD and THC cannabis derivatives. Psychoactive THC medicines remain strictly regulated.

Certain private insurance providers had already begun to cover certain cannabis-based treatments.

“We have worked with insurance companies across the country to include this medication in their administrative systems. In 2021, 60% of our products were sold through agreements with two major insurance providers. Today, all insurance companies are mandated to cover medical cannabis in Colombia, with less paperwork and hassle for patients,” said Álvaro Torres, CEO of cannabis products firm Khiron Life Sciences Corp. ( (TSXV: KHRN), (OTCQB: KHRNF).

Along with its subsidiary, Zerenia Clinics, Torres says the company has filled over 57,000 prescriptions for 16,000 individual patients after Colombia authorized (but did not mandate) coverage of the medications under health insurance plans.

Proof of vaccination must be presented either on paper or digitally, and must include the individual’s full name, date of vaccination, name of the vaccine administered, and the number of doses administered. Only vaccines authorized by the World Health Organization will be recognized by Colombia under this resolution.

For Colombian citizens, foreign residents of Colombia holding a cédula and/or resident visa, and diplomats and their dependents 18 years and older, vaccinated travelers must present proof they have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 for at least 14 days prior to travel. If less than 14 days have elapsed or if the vaccination scheme is not complete, the traveler must present a PCR test with a negative result taken within 72 hours of boarding.

All international travelers are still required to complete the online Check-Mig form between 72 hours and 1 hour prior to arrival in, or departure from, Colombia. Travelers must present a print-out of the form or be ready to show the electronic version on a mobile device to the transporting airline before receiving a boarding pass, and possibly again at Colombian immigration.

Image by hakan german from Pixabay

The following categories of events/businesses are among those that will be required to enforce this requirement:

• Restaurants
• Bars
• Movie theaters
• Dance clubs
• Concerts
• Casinos
• Sporting events
• Amusement parks
• Museums
• Exhibitions/trade shows

Specific locations and restrictions may vary based on local guidance provided by cities and departments.

Guidance issued by the Colombian Ministry of Health clarifies that proof of vaccination may be either physical or electronic and that those vaccinated outside the Colombian system may show documentation from wherever the vaccination was received.

Actions to Take:

• Carry proof of vaccination with you to gain admission to events and in the public venues listed above.
• Those who received a vaccination in Colombia can download a digital vaccine certificate from mivacuna.sispro.gov.co.
• Those who received a vaccination in the United States, or another country, can present any document that demonstrates proof of vaccination.

Significant portions of this article were compiled by communications issued by the US Embassy in Bogotá.

To dive deeper into Skyports’ strategy and plans for Colombia, Finance Colombia Executive Editor Loren Moss had a conversation with Daniel Salamanca, Skyports Colombia’s general manager.

Finance Colombia: Help us to understand a little bit about Skyports as a company. Why did you choose Colombia, and what can we expect to see here in Colombia?

Daniel Salamanca: So I can tell you a little bit about my background, I am an aeronautical engineer. I have worked for approximately seven years where I have developed different types of processes, especially in the industrial area here in the country and one of the first projects I participated in was with the government where through smaller drones, we used drones for laboratory sample transportation. That was the first test concept that we tried here in the country.

Latin America is a very dynamic place for these types of tests. Possibly people relate [to drones] more as a hobby or for audio-visual production than as a professional thing, but the impact that drones are having in the Industrial sector are changing industries. It’s a game-changing factor in the technology sector, it is very important.

“It’s not a transatlantic thing, but this will be able to transport a person from Rionegro to Medellin in 2 minutes.”

Skyports is basically dedicated to two business lines, a short-term line and a long-term line. The short-term line is dedicated to cargo delivery with low to medium capacity drones, which means that we develop through a customer supply chain structure where we move something from point A to point B, that’s what we do.

On the long-term, and understanding a little bit about the aviation story, the first operators were cargo and later passengers, so [we envision] the same thing happening with the revolution of drones. The midterm bet is to achieve the ability to develop vertiports, which are ports that are the necessary infrastructure to land air taxis, drones that can take passengers between cities, between coasts, so it’s a thing that it’s more dedicated towards aviation.

It’s not a transatlantic thing, but this will be able to transport a person from Rionegro to Medellin in 2 minutes, so let’s say that’s the bet. Currently we have operations in different parts of the world. We have operations in APAC, in Singapore, in Scotland we have a successful case in the health sector. And currently the company selected Latin America for a reason and especially Colombia, and that is because we have identified that there are possibilities, there are opportunities for connecting these people that live in rural areas.

So that’s the mission that we have at this moment, and with this type of technology we want to democratize the access to supplies, logistics, goods and even with a more humanitarian focus, and that’s why we chose Colombia, besides the fact that this country, having its characteristics. It’s a country that provides a certain amount of technology, a dynamic environment, especially Medellin, which works as a hub in this topic. So due to the opportunity and conditions that we found here, with the difficult times that people spend trying to gain access to products, food; the geographical conditions, political conditions, thanks to all of that we see opportunities where we can focus and expand the service throughout Latin America in general.

Finance Colombia: You mentioned several things, one thing is that obviously yes, there are challenges that we have here in Colombia as well as there are many areas where the access is only via ships and boats: speaking of Chocó, speaking of Nariño, there are areas like Norte de Santander and Catatumbo where the security situation is dangerous and there are drone use cases for surveillance of oil pipelines for example, but you also mention other things that are surprising to me, when you speak about drones as a way of transportation for people.

I imagine that is not approved in any country for commercial use, it must be in a test stage, isn’t that very futuristic? Something that can be conceived in a more of a long-term way like something we are not going to see in 2022 or 2023, since it’s still in the experimental stage. The process to test a new airplane which would be like FAA, European Union or Aerocivil, is a process that takes years and years so when you’re talking about going from the Airbus 320 to the Airbus 340, there’s a process of 5 to 10 years, so isn’t the idea of passenger drones more like a dream?

I can understand medicine transportation, for example, I know Skyports has a mail delivery project in England, but is transporting people like a dream or is more like a project where you can say “yes, in three years we’re going to move people” or will it still be just products like medicines and food?

Daniel Salamanca: You just said something very important Loren, it’s a bet towards the future. In this midterm line, which I just mentioned to you, what you’re saying is very clear, we only transport small cargo through smaller drones that can take up to 5, 6, 7 or 8 kilograms.

That’s what’s happening currently. Now, despite that we are aware that in the world there are a few companies, Airbus, even new companies, startups, that are developing the concept of air mobility. Countries like Singapore & Dubai are exploring the opportunity of having vertical ports, which is infrastructure oriented to this type of technology. Also companies in Europe and the United States are making the first tests of this [passenger transporting] equipment.

What we know is that this at some point transition will come, and what we’re doing is to prepare the land, the infrastructure, and the logistics to be able to at some point have the capacity of let’s say, providing the service in this kind of air mobility infrastructure. Obviously we can say it’s a dream but it’s a dream that it’s becoming tangible. Every day there are more players in the field, every day doing tests of these types of drones to transport people, and they are developing the infrastructure, the heliports where the drones will be parked. Yes, the concept definitely sounds very futuristic compared to what we have right now, but there are already many companies in the world and even regulatory bodies and institutions working to create regulations so that these can go from a dream to a reality. So far we’re just focused on what we can do which are deliveries with drones, taking a load from point A to point B.

Finance Colombia: Speaking of the commercial aspect of it, the good thing about a drone is that they are fast, and they don’t have to go through streets and road traffic. Two cities can be relatively close but there’s a mountain separating them, so travel is slow. Before from Santa Fe de Antioquia to Medellin it was like six hours because there was no tunnel, and we had to go up the mountain and then go back down.

The drones have limited capacity, and I imagine that due to the operational cost I can’t say: “I want to supply everything to a town.” So due to the delivery cost, the focus has to be on high value products, right? What is the model so that it can be profitable for the company? Obviously by the capacity of the drones, commercial limits and also the fact that when we’re speaking of drones, we’re not talking about suburban areas like Chia, or Cajicá or Llanogrande, but remote areas that have no resources. Can you provide these services in a way that is not so expensive for the end user? I’d like to understand the model, taking into account all these types of limitations.

Daniel Salamanca: Perfect, I can give you an example of what we’re doing in Scotland currently. We’re delivering vital medical supplies. With the concept of the drone, it has to be something of high value, that needs to be transported in a short amount of time. And when I say value, I don’t mean money, but for the person that is receiving it, it is something very necessary, valuable. So: high value, short time delivery, and something that needs to be transported quickly.

What we’re doing in Scotland, with this partnership with the NHS, which is an equivalent of the Health Ministry in Colombia, we developed a process for vital supplies for populations on islands receiving government assistance, similar to populations here in Colombia. The paying customer would be the medical institutions, government agencies and nonprofits or humanitarian entities.

Now in the case of low-income areas as you mention, a village in La Guajira, or a community in Chocó, it’s hard for them to afford this service. Despite that, the strategy is to be able to develop alliances with the government. In Africa there is a success case where this technology was applied. Humanitarian aid is part of the strategies we are trying to develop.

Finance Colombia: Something I’ve noticed is that you have the support of Irelandia Aviation. As we know, this is a private equity developer of airlines which has been super successful and has also worked in the US. They are from the same brains behind RyanAir in Europe. Here in Colombia, Irelandia is the engine behind Viva and its success. Tell the importance of having that backup regarding capital, knowledge and experience in the aviation sector? What does it mean for Skyports?

Daniel Salamanca: Irelandia understands the importance of investing in the future of mobility, including drones and urban air taxis, which is something that is happening right now. What we did was to create an alliance, a joint venture, to cover this part of the world. Irelandia provides its whole background regarding the aviation sector in the region, in Colombia, as well as it has done it with Mexico and Peru, and having operations throughout the region. It has this commercial background and also in the operational aspect. This alliance is very exciting and important, so that we can land with a partner that has a lot of experience in aviation development. The concept of drones for Irelandia is clear and its strategy is to bet on them for the future.

Finance Colombia: When will you operating? When will you be flying drones in Colombia? And when will you be operating serving commercial clients?

Daniel Salamanca: The pre-operational phase where we have to obtain the permissions and technical things, pilots, putting all of this together will take place through July of 2022 when we expect to begin the first operations. What we’re doing now is finishing deals with our partners or potential customers to develop proof-of-concept tests for the first or second quarter of next year. This will also depend on (Colombia’s civil aviation regulatory authority) Aerocivil, in order to have  commercial operating permission for the next year. That’s part of the roll out that we’re doing in Colombia, but we will also integrate countries like Panama or Mexico to start operations under the same plan. First we develop tests, then apply for permission with the regulatory entities, giving proof of safety and reliability, and then we jump to the commercial phase, to start billing clients.

Finance Colombia: Besides the government, with a use case like the health ministry distributing COVID vaccines, what’s the profile of your ideal client?

Daniel Salamanca: Regarding health, there is a long logistics chain: there’s the government, there are the suppliers, transportation, pharmacies, and laboratory entities…so the drone gets to be part of a chain that is already working with all the actors of the health sector, suppliers, pharmacies, health entities, government, clinics, and even foundations that also work in the health sector. Also the Red Cross and humanitarian organizations that are involved in the health process could become that ideal client we’re looking for. So, in the health sector, that’s what we’re emulating, since that’s what we’ve done in Asia Pacific and Europe.

Finance Colombia: We want to let our audience know every step and every achievement you make, so let’s stay in touch with Skyports and its growth.

Daniel Salamanca: Thank you very much. I’m here for any inquiry or comment you might have. And we will keep developing this technology here in Colombia to help the communities and the people.