Colombia’s government has been accused of politicising search and rescue efforts in the aftermath of a catastrophic earthquake, after accepting an Israeli delegation while restricting the entry of other foreign rescue teams.
The 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck western Colombia on Monday has killed at least 265 people, injured 3,494 and left 496 missing, President Abelardo de la Espriella said on Wednesday. Authorities say 25,872 families – more than 53,800 people – have been affected as emergency crews search damaged cities and towns, with thousands of homes destroyed.
The disaster, described as the strongest earthquake to strike Colombia this century, has reduced buildings to rubble across western parts of the country, including in and around Cali and Pereira. Search teams have been using sniffer dogs and acoustic sensors to locate people believed to be trapped, as the chances of finding survivors diminish with each passing day.
Colombia’s disaster management agency initially said it would accept urban search-and-rescue teams from Israel, the United States, Ecuador and El Salvador, while appeals for specialist help from elsewhere were either declined or delayed. The government insisted this was a technical, rather than political, decision, saying that only teams able to meet international protocols and operate self-sufficiently would be admitted, it said.
But the explanation has been challenged after Mexico’s Topos Tlatelolco, a civilian rescue organisation internationally known for deploying after earthquakes and other disasters, said it could not enter Colombia to assist the response. The group had formally offered technical and humanitarian help, but said it was awaiting authorisation from Colombian authorities.
The government later softened its approach, saying it would accept further foreign teams that complied with its stated certification requirements. Colombian media reported that Topos personnel subsequently arrived in Cali, meaning the question is not whether the Mexican rescuers were permanently excluded, but why assistance was restricted during the most critical early stage of the rescue operation.
For critics, Israel’s inclusion in the small initial group of approved countries cannot be separated from De la Espriella’s rapid reorientation of Colombian foreign policy.
The right-wing president took office only days before the quake and has moved with striking speed to repair and deepen relations with Israel, rupturing policies made under the openly pro-Palestine government of his predecessor, Gustavo Petro. Petro severed diplomatic ties with Israel in 2024 over its genocidal war on Gaza, backed South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and stopped Colombian coal exports to Israel.
De la Espriella, who has portrayed Israel as a model for his domestic security agenda, has instead promised renewed diplomatic, security and economic cooperation with Tel Aviv. Before taking office, he proposed a closer alliance with the US and Israel to fight organised crime, emphasising Israeli expertise in military training, drone surveillance, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.
"Israel will find in Colombia a friend and a determined ally in the fight against terrorism and organised crime," De la Espriella said shortly after entering office.
The political shift was underscored this week when Colombia recognised Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights – becoming only the second UN member state after the US to do so. Israel seized the territory from Syria in 1967 and unilaterally annexed it in 1981, a move declared "null and void" by UN Security Council Resolution 497.
Syria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt condemned Bogotá’s move, arguing that individual recognition cannot alter the Golan’s status as occupied Syrian territory under international law.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met De la Espriella shortly before the president’s inauguration, hailing what he called the beginning of a "golden age" in bilateral relations. Israel subsequently announced that it would send an aid delegation at Colombia’s request.