Colombia authorizes US joint military operations

Colombia’s government says at least 281 people have been killed and 379 remain missing after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck between the departments of Chocó and Valle del Cauca. President Abelardo de la Espriella’s office also reported nearly 4,000 injured and tens of thousands of families affected, as search teams continue to pull survivors from collapsed buildings.

The quake hit a country that sits on three tectonic plates and registers tens of thousands of tremors a month, most too small to notice. What turns routine geology into mass casualty is construction quality, urban density and the speed at which a central state can move equipment, money and authority into damaged municipalities. El País reported early collapses in Cali and heavy losses around Pereira, with local officials warning of people trapped in structures that fell in minutes. BNO News, citing figures provided by the president, described thousands of damaged or destroyed homes, more than a hundred collapsed buildings, and damage affecting schools, health facilities and airports—exactly the kind of infrastructure a rescue effort depends on.

The political calendar tightened the margins. De la Espriella was inaugurated days before the quake and initially communicated via social media while a Unified Command Center was set up to coordinate response, according to El País. In that context, emergency declarations are not just about budgets; they determine who can requisition machinery, override procurement rules, and order evacuations when local administrations are already overwhelmed.

At the same time, Bogotá is opening a second front. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Colombia has authorized joint U.S.-Colombian military operations on Colombian soil to combat what Washington calls “narco-terrorism,” El País reported from Panama City. Critics in Colombia argue the Senate must approve the transit of foreign troops under the constitution, turning a security partnership into a domestic legal fight. Hegseth framed the cooperation as a way to target armed groups across Colombia, while the new government presents closer ties with Washington as part of its mandate.

In the space of a week, Colombia has been asked to do two expensive things at once: rebuild shattered cities and escalate a long-running war against armed networks.

The government’s latest casualty figures came as officials warned that the chances of finding people alive diminish with each passing day.