Speech
Abelardo de la Espriella  ·  2026-08-14 02:58

Declaración del presidente Abelardo De La Espriella, acompañado por el Ministro de Vivienda [...]

Thank you very much, journalist friends, for accepting this invitation. I will use the information we have at UNGRD to present the latest report. At this time we have 44,936 affected families, 281 deaths. Unfortunately, our efforts and prayers are with those who have lost their loved ones. We have 3,971 injured and unfortunately the number of missing has risen to 379. These people are our priority. For this purpose, internal resources and international resources that have arrived to support this search are being implemented. We have 10,677 homes destroyed, 65,841 homes damaged, 127 collapsed buildings, 2,136 compromised educational centers, 1,168 affected community centers, 236 damaged health centers, 12 fallen pedestrian bridges, 34 affected vehicular bridges, 198 affected roads, 71 aqueducts at risk, and five airports also with damage. The situation is complex, but we are using all our capacity and the capacity that has come from other countries and that has been implemented as soon as the protocol was applied. Mr. Director of UNREDD, what is the next step and what protocols are currently being applied in response to our greatest concern, which is the missing persons? Mr. President, we continue the search and rescue efforts in confined spaces with the support of certified international groups who have come to lend us a hand in this work and are already dispersed throughout the territory affected by the seismic event in San José del Palmar. Our priority is to continue searching for the people who are trapped in those rubble. Unfortunately, we are reaching a point where the probability of finding survivors is dwindling, but the goal is to not stop searching and finding all those people who are reported missing and not rest until we report finding them, hopefully alive, or recovering their bodies if they are inside the rubble. Our priority is to save lives. Human beings are trapped under the rubble. And I have nothing but words of gratitude and recognition for the heroes of Colombia, soldiers, police officers, members of the Civil Defense, rescuers, firefighters, members of the Red Cross who have worked since the moment of the tragedy in an absolutely committed way. All my appreciation and affection to them. Yesterday, considering the damage suffered by so many homes due to the earthquake, I convened the most important construction companies in Colombia, as well as the trade associations that are part of the sector. This is a historic moment that requires the participation of all Colombians. We will not overcome this tragedy alone as a government. We need private enterprise to rebuild Colombia together, because we, all Colombians, will rebuild this country together. I asked the minister to present a plan for the private construction sector to become involved in this initiative. I must publicly acknowledge that everyone has responded very clearly and with great commitment as soon as they were summoned, and we have proposed a plan to the sector, a plan that we will put together to rebuild Colombia. What is this plan about and how will it be implemented ? Mr. Minister. Thank you, Mr. President. I want to inform all Colombians that it is the collaboration between different sectors that will allow us to move forward. Therefore, led by the Ministry of Housing, together with the territorial entities, mayoral offices, governorships and the businessmen present here, we are going to exhaust and confront this crisis in three stages. As the president has already announced, we are urgently implementing a rental subsidy for families who are currently homeless. But in the next few hours, the decree will be signed that provides relief for the payment of public services for these families who are in this moment of crisis. The business sector will join forces with heavy machinery to help with the debris removal. Similarly, the materials bank, through the municipalities and governorships, will generate timely solutions. And third, we will have an army of professionals on the ground starting next week, conducting a real assessment of how many houses need home improvements and how many definitely need to be rebuilt. And how are we going to rebuild them? in two phases. The first phase is focused on coordinated housing improvements where everyone contributes and everyone benefits. The private sector contributes , the State contributes, territorial centers contribute, and we help these families with home improvements or subsidies for existing homes through all the entities that can be coordinated, with the support of banks offering low interest rates. Similarly, insurance companies provide timely and rapid solutions to enable families to access housing. And in the long term, Mr. President, the goal is for the more than 44,000 families who lost their homes to feel once again that Colombia did not turn its back on them or leave them alone. Therefore, together with business owners, territorial entities and each of the compensation funds, we are going to join forces so that families can have access to housing, housing improvements and public services that we have lost. It's not an easy task, but when we unite, we can all recover our miraculous homeland . Thank you, Minister. My heart goes out to the families of the victims and to the families of those who are still missing and whom I hope we can find alive, with God's help . Without a doubt, fellow countrymen, these are difficult, challenging times, but Colombians are accustomed to rising from the ashes like the phoenix . We've never had it easy. We have always faced very strong challenges, but despite the adversity we have come out on top. And I must say, I have never seen our society, our people, united with the greatest solidarity ever seen in our history because of this tragedy. Without distinctions of ideology, without distinctions of political color, here we have to build and rebuild our homeland together, under a single flag, under the tricolor of this homeland, of this miraculous homeland, which despite adversity does not give up. Count on the firm support of the government and the private sector, which at such a difficult time has decided to step forward to support the reconstruction of our country. This is an opportunity to demonstrate once again what Colombians are made of, what we are capable of, how we grow in adversity, because adversity is to human beings what fire forges iron. And we Colombians are forged in adversity. God puts us in the places we should be and gives his best soldiers the most complex battles. We will come together as a society and together we will rebuild our country to take it to that place of greatness it deserves, which is the homeland of Miracle. Today more than ever I stand firm for the homeland. Long live Colombia and may God bless our magical land.