The far-right politician only admits to 289 deaths, although families have already handed over 304 bodies.
On Monday, the Institute of Legal Medicine (IML) confirmed that it had received 304 bodies of victims of the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck Colombia on Aug. 10.
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The bodies received are from the departments of Choco, Caldas, Risaralda and Valle del Cauca, the areas most affected by the earthquake. Among the victims who have been identified are 22 minors.
Cali, capital of the department of Valle del Cauca, is the city with the highest number of identified victims one week after the earthquake, with 139, followed by Pereira, capital of the department of Risaralda, with 107.
The IML has also identified 12 bodies from Quibdo, capital of Choco; nine from Buenaventura, six from Buga and six from Roldanillo in Choco; and five from Manizales, capital of Caldas.
“The process of handing over the bodies is being carried out in coordination with the Attorney General’s Office, at the corresponding offices in each municipality,” the IML said.
The earthquake’s epicenter was in the town of San Jose del Palmar (Choco), located on the border with Valle del Cauca and Risaralda, and that is why the largest number of fatalities are from those two departments.
Increíble! Abelardo de la Espriella fue a una de las zonas más dañadas por el terremoto en Colombia y repartió balones con el logo de su campaña electoral en lugar de ayudas.
No se puede ser más miserable. pic.twitter.com/uRmAzqw7qD— Julián Macías Tovar (@JulianMaciasT) August 17, 2026
The text reads, “Unbelievable! Abelardo de la Espriella went to one of the areas hardest hit by the earthquake in Colombia and handed out soccer balls with his campaign logo instead of aid. You can’t get any more despicable.”
The Colombian Government Reduces Official Death Toll
On Monday, far-right President Bernardo de la Espriella said the earthquake has left 289 people dead, 15 fewer than the figure of 304 released hours earlier by the Institute of Legal Medicine.
“As of this moment, 289 fellow Colombians are reported dead, 4,187 injured and 143 missing. More than 120,328 families have been registered as affected, 26,945 homes have been destroyed and more than 127,557 homes have been damaged,” he said.
To justify his figures, De la Espriella said the data “remain preliminary” and that his administration “will only communicate duly consolidated data out of respect for the families.”
In his address to the nation, the far-right politician thanked the rescuers, including those from the United States, Ecuador, and Israel. He also thanked the tens of thousands of Colombians who have made donations of money or basic necessities for those affected.
“The country has made an extraordinary effort to collect and transport aid, but the task does not end when that aid reaches a departmental capital. That is where the most complex phase begins: delivering it in an orderly manner to each municipality, township, and rural settlement,” De la Espriella said.
“No damaged road, no communications failure can lead us to abandon our people and allow them to suffer more hardship than they are already enduring,” he added.
El nivel de propaganda de Abelardo de la Espriella es fascinante, un helicóptero lo deja a 50 metros de un vehículo donde le esperan 20 actores a los que le indican que tienen que hacer para rodar la mejor escena de un presidente llegando a zonas afectadas por el terremoto.…
— Julián Macías Tovar (@JulianMaciasT) August 16, 2026
The text reads, “The level of propaganda by Abelardo de la Espriella is fascinating: a helicopter drops him off 50 meters from a vehicle where 20 actors are waiting and are told what to do to film the best scene of a president arriving in areas affected by the earthquake.”
Reconstruction Costs
A first technical estimate conducted by a private firm puts the direct physical losses caused by the earthquake at nearly US$9.5 billion.
Of that amount, about US$7.8 billion corresponds to buildings and another US$1.7 billion to infrastructure. De la Espriella warned, however, that those figures will vary as the damage assessment progresses.
To address reconstruction, he announced the creation of the “Miracle Fund,” which will be responsible for structuring the recovery plan and will use as a reference the Fund for Reconstruction and Social Development of the Coffee-Growing Region (FOREC), created after the 1999 earthquake in the city of Armenia.
The Colombian government is also considering the possibility of providing rental subsidies for families who lost their homes, relief on public utility bills, and creating a program for the purchase or improvement of homes.
On Sunday, the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) informed that the earthquake had left 4,187 people injured and 143 missing. As of that day, 354 people had been rescued from numerous collapsed buildings.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
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