Álvaro Uribe’s government (2002–2010) expanded and professionalized the armed forces, built a helicopter fleet that overcame geography, and pushed police into every municipality. Iván Duque, Uribe’s protégé, implemented the deal slowly and selectively, while politicizing security forces. Attacks on security forces hit their highest level since 2010, with 295 incidents in just one year. From a 2012 peak of 242,000 soldiers, the armed forces have shrunk to about 181,000. It means depoliticizing security forces so competence—not ideology—selects commanders.