Outpouring of international support for Colombia after earthquake
US State Secretary Marco Rubio as well as the leaders of Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador and even Venezuela, which is still dealing with the aftermath of its own quakes, have offered to send teams and equipment
The first gestures of international support for Colombia were quick to arrive after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake shook the country for four minutes on Monday, killing at least 80 people. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Donald Trump administration is ready to send humanitarian assistance. Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum said her team is monitoring the situation through the Mexican embassy in Bogotá. “Of course, any support the people of Colombia require, if necessary, we will be there,” she said at her morning press conference.
Rubio has asked any U.S. citizens currently in Colombia to register at the consulate and follow instructions issued by the U.S. Embassy. “The Trump Administration is closely monitoring the large earthquake that struck Colombia and stands ready to support the people of Colombia and the Administration of Abelardo de la Espriella,” he wrote on X. In Mexico, authorities said there were no early reports of Mexican victims of the tremor.
Just a month and a half after the double earthquake that devastated Caracas, the government of Venezuela on Monday also expressed solidarity with the neighboring nation. Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia González offered to send rescue workers and humanitarian aid: “We reaffirm our commitment to our bonds of Latin American brotherhood, cooperation and unity that unite us,” he said in an official statement.
From Brazil, President Lula da Silva said his country is ready to send any help required by Colombia. And the president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, offered to send a team of 47 rescuers, trained dogs and other resources.
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