Editing Military Forces of Colombia (section)

==Services==
The [[Colombian Constitution of 1991|Colombian Constitution]] includes two overlapping definitions of what could be defined as 'armed forces' in English:
* The Public Force ({{lang|es|La Fuerza Pública}}): Includes the Military Forces proper '''and''' the National Police (Title VII, chapter VII, Art. 216)
* The Military Forces ({{lang|es|Las Fuerzas Militares}}): Includes only the 3 major military service branches: Army, Navy and Aerospace Force (Title VII, chapter VII, Art. 217)

This is a subtle yet important distinction, both in terms of emphasizing the civil nature of the National Police, but also adapting the national police to function as a paramilitary force which can perform military duties as a result of the [[Colombian Conflict]]. This has led to some of the most important police units adopting military training and conducting special operations alongside the Colombian Army, Aerospace Force, and Navy. Therefore, the functions of the Colombian Police in practical terms are similar to those of a gendarmerie, like the [[Civil Guard (Spain)|Spanish Civil Guard]] and the [[Carabineros de Chile]], which maintain military ranks for all police personnel.