Mexico Stands Ready to Send Rescue Teams and Humanitarian Aid to Earthquake-Hit Colombia

By Mexican Press Agency

Mexico is awaiting the Colombian government’s authorization to deploy a 255-member emergency contingent to assist in rescue and humanitarian operations following the powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake that devastated parts of the country.

The mission, organized by Mexico’s Armed Forces under the name Cali Task Force, has already been placed on standby with search-and-rescue personnel, medical specialists, trained dogs, aircraft, medicine and equipment prepared for deployment.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexican authorities are ready to respond immediately but will not send the contingent until Colombia formally requests or accepts the assistance.

“We are waiting for the formal request from the Government of Colombia, but we are ready to go help whenever they tell us we can,” Sheinbaum said during her morning news conference at the National Palace.

National Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla Trejo said the operation was activated shortly after the scale of the emergency became known.

A general and a command team would oversee the Mexican contingent, which includes specialists trained to search collapsed buildings and locate people trapped beneath debris.

Medical personnel would accompany the rescue teams, along with canine units trained to detect survivors in damaged structures.

Mexico has also assembled a substantial shipment of emergency supplies. The Defense Secretariat has prepared four tons of medicine and approximately 8.4 tons of rescue tools and specialized equipment.
Generators, tents, satellite telephones and radio communications equipment are also part of the planned deployment, allowing the Mexican teams to establish their own operational capabilities upon arrival.

Four military aircraft are contemplated for the mission. Two Boeing aircraft would transport personnel, while a C-130 Hercules and a Spartan would carry equipment, medical supplies and humanitarian assistance.
The operation is expected to use Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport, serving Cali, as its point of arrival.
No departure time has been established. Mexican authorities emphasized that the aircraft and personnel will remain on standby until Colombian authorities give the mission the green light.
The Cali Task Force draws on Mexico’s experience deploying specialized disaster-response teams abroad. A similar operation was organized for Venezuela following a previous earthquake emergency, when Mexico sent 261 personnel, including physicians, paramedics and rescue specialists, as well as 18 canine teams.
In Colombia, emergency crews continued searching for survivors following the earthquake, whose epicenter was reported near San José del Palmar, in the department of Chocó, at a depth of approximately 103 kilometers.
Cali, Pereira and other communities in western Colombia were among the areas where search and recovery efforts continued as authorities assessed damage and attempted to reach affected populations.