The Naval Infantry is a constituent part of the Navy whose origins date back to the
wars of independence. Today's Colombian Marines trace their heritage and military traditions from the Gran Colombia Marine Corps raised in 1822, by orders of Major General and Vice-president
Francisco de Paula Santander, with Captain Diego Antonio García, who was appointed commander of the 6th Marine Company raised that year, being appointed Commandant that October. Reactivated by an order from President Dr.
Alfonso López Pumarejo on January 12, 1937, The Colombian Marines started out as a 120-strong Marine Company, located at the Cartagena Naval Base. On March 8, 1940, the 1st Marine Battalion was raised, with three companies to cover Bolivar, Putumayo and the San Andres Islands, then in 1943 was assigned to Buenaventura, Barranquilla, Puerto Leguizamo and the eastern plains. In 1944, a heavy weapons company was raised and the battalion was moved to facilities adjacent to the San Pedro Claver convent in Cartagena. With the advent of
La Violencia, in 1952 the Marines were reassigned to the Eastern Naval Force due to the appearance of subversives in this area, and in a year, with the transfer of personnel from the
National Army of Colombia, the number of personnel serving increased. In July 1955, thanks to the instruction of officers and NCOs in the United States in the United States Naval Academy,
The Basic School of the United States Marine Corps and the
United States Marine Corps School of Infantry and the U.S. mission of the United States Marine Corps aimed for this effort, the Naval Infantry began training and forming its personnel for amphibious warfare operations. On April 9, 1956, the Marine Corps Basic and Formation School was opened, headquartered at first in Turbaco (Bolivar), then moved to Carne (Cartagena) and is today currently located in Covenas. By 1957, the Marine Fluvial Commands were officially raised with the first unit being called "Flotilla Avispa", and thus its formal foundation marked a new chapter in the Naval Infantry history, as the Fluvial Commands were mandated to secure the nation's inland waters. On July 3, 1958, the Colombian Naval Academy had its first 8 Marine Second Lieutenants commissioned. In 1964, the Marine Infantry Directoriate of the Navy was established and became the Naval Infantry Command in 1967, the very same year that, led by CPT Jaime Arias Arango and with the advice of the then Commandant, COL Jorge Sánchez, the Marine Amphibious Commando specialty arm was officially introduced into the service.
Dates of importance to the Naval Infantry The Naval Infantry Training Base, based in Covenas, began its work in 1975, with its mission of training men and women to join the ranks of the Naval Infantry and to prepare to perform its duties of defending the territorial and maritime integrity of the Colombian nation through basic military training through its Instruction Battalions before moving to the regular units of the Naval Infantry nationwide. Since January 15, 1984, the Naval Infantry is a designated principal combatant command of the Navy, with its primary responsibility being amphibious and seaborne defense of the maritime and land territories of the Republic. Its motto is ("Will Surpasses Everything"). Since then, the Marines have had several changes in line with the operational situation of the armed forces and the needs of public order in Colombia. Traditionally all-male for much of its history, the Corps admitted its first female students of the Marine Training Base and the Basic School in 2024. ==Personnel==