Tag: Colombia

• Sunday, August 16th 2026 - 07:40 UTC

  Colombia asks Washington to suspend 12.5% tariffs over the earthquake emergency

  

  Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella on Saturday asked his US counterpart, Donald Trump, to temporarily suspend tariffs on Colombian goods, arguing this would give exporters relief as the country faces the economic consequences of Monday's magnitude 7.4 earthquake.

• Saturday, August 15th 2026 - 06:08 UTC

  Colombia: De la Espriella calls the situation in Pereira “apocalyptic” after touring the city

  

  Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella on Friday described the situation in Pereira, capital of Risaralda department and one of the places worst hit by Monday's magnitude 7.4 earthquake in the west and center of the country, as “apocalyptic.”

• Thursday, August 13th 2026 - 22:31 UTC

  Colombia faces reconstruction with 96% of the year's debt quota already used

  

  Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella declared an economic emergency on Wednesday to address the consequences of Monday's magnitude 7.4 earthquake in the west of the country, against a backdrop of fiscal constraints that will shape how reconstruction is financed.

• Wednesday, August 12th 2026 - 00:05 UTC

  Colombia asks for supplies but not foreign rescue personnel after the earthquake

  

  Colombia's government has requested international aid in the form of supplies for those affected by Monday's magnitude 7.4 earthquake, but has not called for foreign rescue teams, despite offers from at least six countries and multilateral bodies.

• Tuesday, August 11th 2026 - 10:51 UTC

  At least 132 dead in the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck western Colombia

  

  At least 132 people were killed and 570 injured by the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck western and central Colombia on Monday, according to the latest report submitted by the Colombian Association of Capital Cities at 7:00 p.m. local time. Authorities warned the figure is preliminary and that rescue work is continuing.

• Tuesday, August 11th 2026 - 10:11 UTC

  Colombia and Venezuela quakes are unconnected despite similar magnitude, experts say

  

  The magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck western and central Colombia on Monday has a different tectonic origin from the earthquakes recorded in Venezuela in June, despite comparable magnitudes, said Viviana Dionisio, a seismologist with Colombia's National Seismological Network.

• Monday, August 10th 2026 - 19:16 UTC

  De la Espriella gives the first earthquake toll and entrusts Colombia to Jesus Christ

  

  Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella reported 111 dead and 87 injured on Monday from the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck the west and center of the country, in an address containing extensive religious references. “I entrust our country to the Lord Jesus Christ,” he said after chairing a meeting of the unified command post set up at the National Disaster Risk Management Unit.

• Monday, August 10th 2026 - 14:29 UTC

  Colombia records its strongest earthquake in a decade, geological service says

  

  A magnitude 7.4 earthquake shook western and central Colombia on Monday, causing damage in several cities and affecting six airports. It is the strongest earthquake recorded in the country in the past decade, according to the Colombian Geological Service (SGC). No official casualty figures have been released so far.

• Monday, August 10th 2026 - 08:32 UTC

  De la Espriella sets ten armed group leaders as his target for his first 90 days

  

  Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella has pledged to capture or kill ten leaders of illegal armed groups during the first 90 days of his term, which began on Friday in Cali. The commitment, made during his campaign, is the centerpiece of the “shock plan” with which the new president seeks to reverse the negotiation policy of his predecessor, Gustavo Petro.

• Sunday, August 9th 2026 - 20:05 UTC

  Machado congratulates De la Espriella and says Venezuela will soon follow suit

  

  Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado congratulated Colombia's new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, and said Venezuela would “very soon” undertake a process of institutional and democratic strengthening similar to the one she said is beginning in the neighboring country. The Colombian president replied on Sunday thanking her for the support.