Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella handed out soccer balls from inside a vehicle in Buenaventura after last week's earthquake on August 16, 2026. Photo: IG/@carlosparrabuc.
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella has sparked a wave of outrage after visiting the city of Buenaventura, in the Valle del Cauca Department, to hand out soccer balls marked with his political party’s logo, ‘Defensores de la Patria,’ to victims of the earthquake that affected the region.
The soccer balls were handed out on Sunday during an official visit aimed at assessing the damage caused by the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that shook the region on August 10.
The gesture provoked a wave of indignation among the municipality’s residents and on social media. Critics said the act resembled political propaganda at a time when the earthquake’s aftermath has caused a health system collapse and shortages of basic supplies such as water and food.
PFLP Raises Concerns Over Venezuela’s Renewed Ties With ‘Israel’
Last week’s earthquake is the strongest recorded in Colombia so far this century. The death toll has risen to nearly 300 people, and the injured exceed 4,000. Meanwhile, the search continues for about 500 missing, according to the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD).
(RT)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SF
