Colombia\u2019s newest president was sworn in Friday. On Monday, disaster hit.<\/p>\n
The president, Abelardo De La Espriella<\/a>, is a former criminal defense lawyer with no previous political experience. He rose to power on promises to crack down on criminals and on his country\u2019s resurgent armed groups, and was endorsed<\/a> by President Trump.<\/p>\n Running as an outsider, he also vowed to shrink the government and tackle a huge budget deficit following four years of what many called runaway spending under Gustavo Petro<\/a>, Colombia\u2019s first leftist president.<\/p>\n Before taking office, Mr. De La Espriella, announced he would govern from Colombia\u2019s Caribbean Coast, near where he was raised, and pledged to travel the country tending to Colombians\u2019 needs, instead of remaining ensconced in the capital.<\/p>\n Now, days into his term, Mr. De La Espriella is facing his first big test.<\/p>\n In a brief video<\/a> posted on social media on Monday morning that appeared to be shot from the presidential plane, he said he had canceled his travel plans and was headed to Bogot\u00e1, where he would \u201cpersonally\u201d lead the disaster response.<\/p>\n Addressing people in the worst-hit areas \u2014 around the epicenter in the Choc\u00f3 region, and in the coffee-growing region known as Eje Cafetero, or Coffee Axis \u2014 he said, \u201cYou\u2019re not alone.\u201d<\/p>\n A few hours later, he posted more footage<\/a>, this time from a conference room where he sat surrounded by scores of people, apparently coordinating the disaster response. Dramatic music played over the video.<\/p>\n Ante la emergencia, el Estado responde: unidos, coordinados y en acci\u00f3n para proteger la vida de los colombianos.<\/p>\n Estoy al frente de la situaci\u00f3n. Me duele profundamente lo que est\u00e1n viviendo las familias y las regiones afectadas.<\/p>\n Colombia est\u00e1 unida y saldremos adelante\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/8bnJFr4Ehv<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Abelardo De La Espriella (@ABDELAESPRIELLA) August 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The earthquake hit less than two months after twin earthquakes<\/a> devastated Venezuela.<\/p>\n The epicenter of Colombia\u2019s magnitude 7.4 earthquake was in Choc\u00f3, a rural region along Colombia\u2019s Pacific Coast that is home to a large Afro-Colombian population and Indigenous communities. Isolated by geography and a lack of passable roads, some coastal communities have long been accessible only by water.<\/p>\n Towns and small cities in the neighboring coffee-growing region, Valle del Cauca, also suffered severe damage, officials said.<\/p>\n Colombia has for decades been mired in conflict that cut off some areas from the government and left armed groups as the de facto authority. Though Colombia\u2019s largest rebel group, the FARC, signed a landmark peace accord<\/a> a decade ago, the conflict has resumed<\/a> in recent years.<\/p>\n Armed groups have multiplied and expanded into more of the country, fueled by soaring demand for cocaine and a boom in illegal gold and mineral mining.<\/p>\n As the groups battle for control of drug trade routes and mines, they have brought renewed violence, killing community leaders and forcing hundreds of thousands of civilians to flee.<\/p>\n Choc\u00f3, where the earthquake struck near the village of San Jos\u00e9 del Palmar, has in recent years become a flashpoint for clashes between two of Colombia\u2019s most powerful armed groups: the National Liberation Army, or ELN, a decades-old rebel army with leftist roots, and the Clan del Golfo, or Gulf Clan, which has right-wing paramilitary ties.<\/p>\n The previous president, Mr. Petro, engaged armed groups in peace negotiations that largely failed. <\/p>\n Mr. De La Espriella pledged while campaigning that he would target Colombia\u2019s armed groups with U.S. help. He made clear during his inauguration speech<\/a> that the option of negotiations with the groups had been \u201ccompletely exhausted.\u201d<\/p>\n With Mr. De La Espriella in office, the Trump Administration has been seeking to fast-track military cooperation<\/a> with Colombia as part of its regionwide effort to go after cartels; on Friday, the State Department announced<\/a> that it would offer Colombia $1 billion in assistance as part of a \u201cnew era in U.S.-Colombia relations.\u201d<\/p>\n Experts say Mr. De La Espriella\u2019s iron-fisted message could result in an uptick in attacks by armed groups. Over the weekend, videos circulated<\/a> online that appeared to show members of the ELN. In one, a fighter can be heard directing himself to Mr. De La Espriella, who adopted the campaign nickname El Tigre, or The Tiger, and saying, \u201cLet\u2019s see who roars louder.\u201d<\/p>\n Earthquake responders could be moving into areas controlled by those same armed groups.<\/p>\n Mr. De La Espriella already faced the challenge of governing a sharply divided country. He won June\u2019s election<\/a> by less than one percentage point, narrowly defeating Senator Iv\u00e1n Cepeda, a member of the left-wing party Mr. Petro founded and leads, Pacto Hist\u00f3rico.<\/p>\n Mr. Cepeda and his fellow party members in Congress boycotted the inauguration, and Mr. Cepeda has called on his followers to engage in peaceful civil disobedience, pointing to Mr. De La Espriella\u2019s alleged ties to paramilitary figures and to his U.S. citizenship,<\/a> which he says stands to undermine Colombia\u2019s sovereignty.<\/p>\n A Times investigation<\/a> found that Mr. De La Espriella \u2014 who lived in Miami for more than a decade and whose clients included accused drug traffickers facing extradition \u2014 was investigated by U.S. authorities in connection with the movement of funds by a client accused in a major money-laundering scheme linked to the Venezuelan government, Alex Saab<\/a>.<\/p>\n On Monday, when Mr. De La Espriella posted from the emergency command center in Bogot\u00e1, he added a caption.<\/p>\n \u201cColombia is united and we will move forward together,\u201d it read.<\/p>\n