MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Colombia's president hands out branded footballs in an earthquake-hit port city

The video, posted by a local activist, circulated widely on social media and drew criticism from political figures and community leaders in the region

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella was filmed on Sunday throwing footballs to children on a street in Buenaventura, the country's main Pacific port and one of the places worst affected by the magnitude 7.4 earthquake of August 10. The balls carried the logo of Defensores de la Patria, the political movement that brought him to the presidency eleven days ago.

The video, posted by a local activist, circulated widely on social media and drew criticism from political figures and community leaders in the region. The handout took place outside a press conference at which the president announced the reopening of the hospital ship Benkos Biohó and the dispatch of tonnes of medical aid to the port, where more than 10,000 homes were damaged, more than 400 people were injured and 27 died. The local hospital network remains overwhelmed.

Imagina perder tu casa y a tus seres queridos en un desastre natural, y que parte de la respuesta del presidente Abelardo sea regalarte balones con su logo.

El sentido común brilla por su ausencia.

Además, parece ser que el tipo lleva guantes de látex. pic.twitter.com/1Jb0FVbLFg

— Diego David Ochoa (@Diego_David8) August 17, 2026

“The footballs are not a sin, but they were a communication mistake,” said local columnist Jhon Jairo Caicedo, who argued the episode overshadowed the substance of the visit. For Buenaventura community leader Leonard Rentería, “the real debate is not about footballs” but about the state of schools: six were completely destroyed and authorities declared an educational emergency in the municipality.

Objections extended to the measures announced. Interior Minister Rodrigo Lara Restrepo proposed that telecoms companies donate data plans and that the government arrange the delivery of tablets so classes could resume online. Former culture minister Paula Moreno, who heads the Manos Visibles foundation and was in Buenaventura that same day, questioned the proposal. “Virtual classes do not work because the Pacific has no connectivity, and children in the Pacific cannot afford mobile phones,” she said.

Moreno argued the priority is resuming in-person classes in protected settings, since children out of school are exposed to recruitment by the armed groups operating in the region. She also objected to the rent subsidies announced by the government, noting there is not enough rental housing stock in the area. She called for professionals from the Pacific to be brought into the state response to speed up understanding of local conditions.

Buenaventura has a majority Afro-descendant population and has for decades recorded some of Colombia's highest rates of poverty and armed violence, despite handling a large share of the country's foreign trade.

The national earthquake toll, as of Sunday, records close to 300 dead, 127,608 homes damaged and 26,392 destroyed.