Colombia earthquake leaves dozens dead as De La Espriella leads response

A 7.4-magnitude earthquake slammed western Colombia on Monday, killing at least 77 people and damaging hundreds of buildings as rescue crews and residents pushed through rubble in Cali, Pereira and Manizales. The tremor also shook Bogota and reached Quito, Ecuador, adding to the pressure on Abelardo De La Espriella just days after he took office.

The death toll kept climbing through the day. Reuters reported at least 77 dead, while AP-linked coverage put the toll at least 111 and said people were trapped under debris after evacuating homes and buildings. The Colombian Geological Service, cited in Reuters Connect material, was identified as the source for the quake’s 7.4 magnitude.

The disaster landed on a president who had never held public office before his inauguration on Friday in Cali, a break from the long-standing practice of swearing in Colombia’s leader in Bogota. De La Espriella narrowly won the June election, and his maiden speech pledged a robust fight against crime and fiscal austerity, along with a hard line on armed groups. Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president, attended the ceremony, underscoring the unusual symbolism of the swearing-in in a volatile southwestern city.

The earthquake also sharpened the political stakes around a new administration already under scrutiny. On Aug. 7, the U.S. State Department said the Trump administration planned to provide $1 billion in security assistance to Colombia’s new government, a signal of outside backing as De La Espriella replaces Gustavo Petro and turns from campaign rhetoric to crisis management. The president’s response now unfolds under the kind of pressure that exposes whether a fresh mandate can translate into state capacity when lives and infrastructure are on the line.

Colombia has faced devastating quakes before. A World Economic Forum backgrounder said the 1983 Popayán earthquake killed around 380 people, and the 1999 Armenia/Quindío earthquake killed 2,000 and left 10,000 homeless. Those precedents have long made disaster response a test not only of emergency services, but of the state itself.