Colombia is still counting its victims. 289 people died, more than 4.000 were injured, and 143 remain missing after the 7,4-magnitude earthquake that shook the Pacific coast on August 10, 2026. Nearly 27.000 homes were destroyed.
Amid that situation, Abelardo de la Espriella, who had assumed the presidency just three days before the earthquake, arrived in Buenaventura and Quibdó handing out soccer balls from his official vehicle. Not just any balls: they bore the logo of “Defensores de la Patria”, his own political movement.
🇨🇴 Disgraceful! The President of Colombia showed up in one of the areas affected by the earthquake to throw balls at people. pic.twitter.com/rmWQouMv1v
— Roi Lopez Rivas (@RoiLopezRivas) August 16, 2026
A woman affected in Quibdó told him to his face in a video that went viral: “Did you bring balls?”. Former president Gustavo Petro also came out to criticize him for confusing a humanitarian emergency with a soccer match. The ruling party responded that the trucks were also carrying food, but the image of a president throwing balls bearing his political brand at people who had lost their homes has already left its mark.