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Private Sector Pledges Massive Aid Following Devastating Colombian Earthquake

3 sources · Colombia

Who reported this

  • El Espectador Colombia · Centre-left · Grupo Santo Domingo
  • La Silla Vacia Colombia · Centre · Foundation-owned
  • El Tiempo Colombia · Centre-right · Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo (Grupo Aval)

What the colours mean

  • Left
  • Centre-left
  • Centre
  • Centre-right
  • Right
  • A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.

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The owner of each outlet is listed as a matter of record, not as a judgement about the outlet.

Every source for this story reports from Colombia.

Private entities and wealthy individuals have pledged hundreds of billions of pesos to assist in the recovery efforts following a magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck western Colombia on August 10. According to the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management, the disaster left 304 people dead, 4,548 injured, and 426 missing. The earthquake affected 15 departments and 472 municipalities, leaving over 292,000 people displaced and destroying nearly 30,000 structures, including hundreds of schools and health centers. Total losses are estimated at 30 trillion pesos, or approximately 9.5 billion dollars.

Major financial contributions include 200 billion pesos from Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo and 200 billion pesos from Proantioquia. The Gilinski family donated 150 billion pesos for hospitals and schools in Cali, while David Vélez and the Santo Domingo family each contributed 100 billion pesos. Additionally, the ANDI campaign "Empresas Unidas por Colombia" has raised over 200 billion pesos. International aid includes 26.5 million dollars from the United States, 10 million dollars from the United Arab Emirates, and 3.2 million dollars from China. Bbva is donating 2 million euros, which will be channeled through agencies such as UNICEF and UNHCR.

Individual efforts include a 1 million dollar donation from singer Shakira, funded via Global Citizen and Live Nation, specifically for the reconstruction of schools and the Technological University of Chocó. In the Valle region, Comfandi has allocated over 20 billion pesos in subsidies for its affiliates. Meanwhile, the gastronomic sector in Valle is seeking tax relief to prevent the potential loss of 200,000 jobs.

How each side framed it

Centre-left
Emphasizes the scale of human suffering and the extensive physical destruction of infrastructure.
Centre
Focuses on the specific breakdown of private donations and compares them to the smaller contributions from foreign governments.
Centre-right
Highlights the economic instability of the business sector and the need for financial subsidies and tax relief.

Sources

87% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.