A C-17 Globemaster III from the United States Air Force departed this Saturday for Colombia loaded with emergency supplies, according to an announcement by Southcom on its X account.
The aircraft is transporting shelter materials, water, hygiene items, and hundreds of Starlink kits to provide connectivity to humanitarian organizations and the Colombian government.
The flight is part of the humanitarian response led by the State Department following the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that shook western Colombia on August 10, with the epicenter in San José del Palmar, Chocó department, at a depth of 103 kilometers.
"Southern Command is actively supporting the U.S. humanitarian response led by the State Department following the earthquake on August 10 in western Colombia. The United States stands in solidarity with the Colombian people during this crisis," stated Southern Command in its post.
The aircraft took off from the Homestead Air Base in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Upon arrival, the International Organization for Migration and the World Food Programme will oversee the last-mile distribution of the supplies.
The toll from the disaster exceeds 260 dead and nearly 500 missing, with over 1,600 damaged buildings and at least 61 completely collapsed, according to figures reported as of August 13.
The U.S. response has been extensive from the very beginning. On Tuesday, August 11, the State Department announced an initial package of 15.5 million dollars; on Friday, August 14, it added 11 million dollars more, raising the total commitment to 26.5 million dollars.
The funds are channeled through Catholic Relief Services, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, IOM, UNICEF, the World Food Programme, and World Vision, and are allocated for food assistance, healthcare, protection, shelter, and structural assessments.
In parallel to the airlift, two Urban Search and Rescue teams — VA-TF1 from Fairfax County, Virginia, and USA-02 from the Los Angeles County Fire Department — arrived in Colombia on Wednesday, August 12, and are operating in Pereira.
According to the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá, “members of VATF1 and LACOFD are in Pereira providing support in coordination and information management, as well as medical expertise, in structural evaluation and rescue, in support of the Colombian government's search and rescue efforts.”
The bilateral political context adds significance to the speed of the response. The new Colombian president Abelardo de la Espriella took office just three days before the earthquake, succeeding Gustavo Petro, and has radically reoriented his country's foreign policy: he incorporated Colombia into the "Shield of the Americas," the regional security alliance promoted by Washington, and announced the severing of diplomatic relations with Cuba and Nicaragua.
In that context of rapprochement, Washington had announced its intention to allocate 1 billion dollars in security assistance to Colombia to combat drug trafficking and organized crime, pending Congressional approval.
This Saturday, the Colombian government confirmed that so far there are 294 dead and 360 missing following the earthquake.
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