Mexico says Colombia rejected its earthquake rescue team

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has said Colombia is refusing to allow a team of Mexican rescue experts into the country to help search for survivors of Monday’s devastating earthquake, as questions grow over how the new government is handling offers of international assistance.

Sheinbaum said on Thursday that she had initially been told the military rescue team had travelled to Colombia, but was informed at a security cabinet meeting the following day that this was not the case.

“Colombia requested a certification. They are certified, but now they are asking for another certification,” Sheinbaum told reporters.

Mexico has continued sending other help, including food and medical supplies.

Colombia’s Foreign Minister Omar Bula said on Wednesday that the country had accepted 58.5 tonnes of aid from Mexico and that a flight carrying humanitarian assistance was arriving that day.

Colombia denies politics behind decision on foreign rescuers

Scheinbaum’s comments come as President Abelardo de la Espriella, a conservative who took office just days before the earthquake, is facing accusations that he has blocked rescue teams from countries with left-wing leaders. His administration denies the allegation.

“We have not excluded any country whatsoever in terms of the offers they have made to us,” Bula said. “We work with countries without any ideological or political considerations.”

David Santiago Tamayo, director of Colombia’s National Unit for Disaster Risk Management, said on Wednesday that the government was formalising support from rescue teams in the United States, El Salvador, Ecuador and Israel.

He said foreign teams would have to be “internationally certified and recognised by their respective countries”, and that Colombia would only accept those recognised by the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group, or INSARAG, the UN-backed network that sets international standards for urban search-and-rescue teams.

Sheinbaum, however, challenged Colombia’s explanation on Thursday, saying the Mexican team was already certified and had been asked to provide another certification, adding that the military rescue brigade had previously deployed to 98 countries and was still “ready to leave at any moment”.

Hopes of finding more survivors fade

The dispute comes after the critical 72-hour window for finding survivors alive has already passed, with hopes fading of finding more people beneath the rubble left by Monday’s magnitude 7.4 earthquake.

At least 273 people have been killed and more than 3,800 injured, according to government figures on Thursday. Another 377 people were still officially listed as missing.

Beyond Mexico, several countries have offered assistance. A team from the Los Angeles County Fire Department arrived on Thursday to help with search operations and structural assessments, while another US urban search-and-rescue team from Fairfax County in the state of Virginia was also mobilised at the request of the Colombian government. Peru and Brazil have also offered assistance, while De la Espriella announced on X that Colombia will receive a $10m donation from the United Arab Emirates.

On Wednesday, the president announced plans to declare an economic emergency and establish a reconstruction fund to channel Colombian and international assistance towards rebuilding hospitals, schools, homes and infrastructure.