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Abelardo De La Espriella had never held public office until his inauguration on Friday. Now, he is at the helm of a major disaster response.
Colombia’s newest President was sworn in Friday (Saturday NZ time). On Monday, disaster hit.
The President, Abelardo De La Espriella, is a former criminal defence
lawyer with no previous political experience. He rose to power on promises to crack down on criminals and on his country’s resurgent armed groups, and was endorsed by President Donald Trump.
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, Colombia’s first leftist President.
Before taking office, De La Espriella announced he would govern from Colombia’s Caribbean Coast, near where he was raised, and pledged to travel the country tending to Colombians’ needs, instead of remaining ensconced in the capital.
Now, days into his term, De La Espriella is facing his first big test.
In a brief video posted on social media Monday morning that appeared to be shot from the presidential plane, he said he had cancelled his travel plans and was headed to Bogotá, where he would “personally” lead the earthquake disaster response.
Addressing people in the worst-hit areas – around the epicentre in the Chocó region, and in the coffee-growing region known as Eje Cafetero, or Coffee Axis – he said, “You’re not alone.”
A few hours later, he posted more footage, 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.
The earthquake hit less than two months after twin earthquakes devastated Venezuela.
The epicentre of Colombia’s magnitude 7.4 earthquake was in Chocó, a rural region along Colombia’s 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.
Towns and small cities in the neighbouring coffee-growing region, Valle del Cauca, also suffered severe damage, officials said.
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’s largest rebel group, the FARC, signed a landmark peace accord a decade ago, the conflict has resumed in recent years.
Armed groups have multiplied and expanded into more of the country, fuelled by soaring demand for cocaine and a boom in illegal gold and mineral mining.
