Tolemaida Air Base

Tolemaida Air Base
IATA: TOL – ICAO: SKTI
Summary
Airport type	Military
Operator	Colombian military
Location	Melgar, Colombia
Elevation AMSL	493 m / 1,617 ft
Coordinates	04°14′41″N 074°38′59″W / 4.24472°N 74.64972°W
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 04/22 2,829 9,280 Asphalt 04L/22R 436 1,431 Concrete
Source: DAFIF[1][2]

Tolemaida Air Base (ICAO: SKTI) is a Colombian military air base located in Melgar,^[1] a municipality of the Tolima department in Colombia.

Facilities

The air base resides at an elevation of 1,617 feet (493 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways: 04/22 has an asphalt pavement measuring 9,280 by 96 feet (2,829 m × 29 m) and 04L/22R with a concrete surface measuring 1,431 by 65 feet (436 m × 20 m).^[1]

Sexual assaults

A joint commission of the Colombian government and FARC released a report in 2015 documenting the rape of at least 54 girls by United States military personnel between 2003 and 2007.^[3] The assaults were concentrated in and around the Tolemaida Air Base and Melgar. The report details a 2007 incident where a 12–year-old Melgar girl was allegedly drugged and kidnapped by U.S. Sergeant Michael Coen and military contractor César Ruiz who raped her and uploaded video of the assault to a pornography site. Due to bilateral immunity agreements the men were immune from prosecution.^[4][5]

Gallery

• 

  Colombian Army special forces
  at Tolemaida Air Base, 2007
• 

  Colombian special forces
  at Tolemaida Air Base, 2007

References

1. Airport information for SKTI from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
2. Airport information for SKTI at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
3. Alsema, Adriaan (23 March 2015). "At least 54 Colombian girls sexually abused by immune US military: Report". Colombia Reports.
4. "US Military Sexually Abused at Least 54 Colombian Children". teleSUR. 23 March 2015.
5. Reyes, Gerardo; Guillen, Gonzalo (3 September 2009). "U.S. soldier's immunity clouds 2007 Colombian rape case". El Nuevo Herald.