Colombia’s president asks Trump to lift tariffs as earthquake death toll passes 289

Abi Sarabia M., Philippine Canadian Inquirer
August 18, 2026

Photo courtesy: AP News

BOGOTÁ, Colombia — President Abelardo de la Espriella has asked U.S. President Donald Trump to temporarily suspend tariffs on Colombian goods, seeking economic relief as the country continues recovering from a 7.4-magnitude earthquake that has killed at least 289 people.

De la Espriella disclosed the request in a post on X on Saturday night, saying he had spoken with Trump and thanked him for U.S. assistance following the disaster. 

He said he asked Trump “to consider the temporary suspension of the high tariffs that affect Colombian products, in order to provide relief to our businesspeople, who are facing very difficult times due to the effects of the earthquake.”

Trump administration has not publicly responded to the request. The U.S. State Department has said Washington has committed a total of $26.5 million in earthquake aid, including food, temporary shelter and health supplies.

A new leader tested early

De la Espriella took office earlier this month, only days before the earthquake struck, after winning a closely contested runoff election on June 21 in which he had Trump’s backing. Since taking power, he has moved to highlight his relationship with the U.S. president, and the tariff request is his most direct attempt yet to translate that alliance into concrete economic support for his country.

Scale of the disaster

The earthquake struck on a Monday morning and devastated parts of western Colombia, with the cities of Pereira, Cali and Quibdó among the hardest hit. Communities along the Pacific coast, including the department of Chocó, one of the poorest regions in the country and the quake’s epicenter, sustained heavy damage. De la Espriella has formally declared the earthquake a natural disaster.

According to government figures, the quake has injured 3,937 people, destroyed 14,705 homes and damaged another 81,536. Authorities have said 143 people remain missing, though separate, civilian-run tracking databases put that number in the thousands — a discrepancy that has not been officially reconciled.

Search for survivors continues

In Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city, rescue crews are still searching for more than 70 people reported missing, even though more than 120 hours have passed since the quake — well beyond the 48- to 72-hour window generally considered critical for finding survivors in collapsed structures.

“Miracles do happen,” Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder said from a unified command post, adding that crews are “working where we know there are still victims” in the hope of finding people alive.

The scale of destruction, concentrated in some of Colombia’s poorer regions, has added urgency to de la Espriella’s appeal to Washington. Whether the Trump administration responds to the tariff request,  and how quickly — may become an early test of the relationship between the two leaders.