The Ameli (abbreviated from the Spanish Ametralladora ligera or "light machine gun") is a 5.56mm light machine gun designed for the Spanish Army (Ejército de Tierra) by the nationally-owned and operated Centro de Estudios Técnicos de Materiales Especiales (CETME) small arms research institute (founded by the Spanish government in 1950).Development of the weapon began in 1974 under the supervision of Colonel José María Jiménez Alfaro (who would later become the director of CETME).