The new president of Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella, asked Donald Trump on Saturday August 15 for a suspension of customs duties to help reconstruction, a task which promises to be considerable after the earthquake which left nearly 300 dead.
Although relief operations continue, the chances of survival of the hundreds of missing people are diminishing almost a week after the earthquake, and the President of La Espriella is increasing his declarations concerning the recovery of his country.
Just three days after he took office, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake devastated the western Colombian cities of Cali and Pereira on Monday, leaving nearly 300 people dead, at least 320 missing and nearly 4,000 injured, and destroying about 13,000 homes.
“I asked him to consider temporarily suspending the high customs duties affecting Colombian products,” the hard-right president wrote on X, asking his ally Donald Trump for a favor to relieve the country’s struggling economy.
“I told him that we had an immense challenge before us: rebuilding Colombia in the midst of the extremely difficult and apocalyptic economic situation that I inherited,” he added, specifying that he had spoken for around ten minutes with his American counterpart.
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United States customs duties on Colombian products increased from 10% to 12.5% at the end of July, with the exception of certain products such as coffee or oil.
The US State Department announced new aid on Friday, bringing its total contribution since the earthquake to $26.5 million for Colombia, whose new government has just joined the anti-drug trafficking coalition led by Washington.
Abelardo de la Espriella made lightning visits to the disaster areas, where he promised rental assistance for people left homeless.
He also announced on Wednesday his intention to use the economic emergency, a measure which authorizes him to raise taxes and modify the budget without going through Parliament.
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Exhausted rescuers
On the ground, with little chance of finding survivors, rescue teams spent another day on Saturday searching for the missing.
On Friday evening, a woman who had spent nearly 37 hours under the rubble after the earthquake in Pereira before being freed on Tuesday, died in hospital. His case had become a symbol of hope in Colombia.
In the center of Pereira, one of the most affected towns, several people observe the clearing work behind yellow ribbons marked “danger”.
“If there is someone alive, it’s a miracle, but I don’t believe there is life underneath,” said Fernando Gaitán, 55, a deliveryman in a disaster-stricken restaurant.
Rescuers remove pieces of roofs and walls using machines. Visibly exhausted after six days of grueling work, they take breaks to sit on the ground.
“We will stay until the last person is found,” fire corporal Javier Jiménez assures AFP.
After the tragedy, Colombia received humanitarian aid from several countries around the world, such as Mexico, Spain and Germany.
However, Colombia has so far only accepted relief teams sent by the right-wing governments of the United States, El Salvador, Ecuador and Israel, according to the national risk management body.
On Saturday, Abelardo de la Espriella thanked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the phone for sending humanitarian aid and relief teams to Colombia.
With AFP
