Héctor Méndez, the 80-year-old ‘Topo Mayor,’ already had his ticket back to Mexico. His team had spent a full 41 days working amid the rubble in La Guaira, Venezuela, after June’s double earthquake.
They were in Panama when the news arrived: a magnitude 7.4 earthquake had just shaken San José del Palmar, in Chocó, Colombia. Without resting, without returning home, the Mexican Topos Azteca brigade changed course and flew straight to Bogotá and then Cali, carrying thermal guns and Wi-Fi detection equipment to search for survivors beneath the rubble.
They arrived in the early hours of August 12, 2026, while Abelardo de la Espriella’s new government still maintained restrictions on international aid. The quake had already left more than 230 dead, and another Mexican brigade, Los Topos de Tlatelolco, had faced the same initial rejection. The Azteca did not wait: they simply arrived. 🙌
