A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia at 7:34 a.m. local time on August 10, with an epicenter about 3 miles (5 kilometers) east of San José del Palmar in the department of Chocó, roughly 150 miles (241 kilometers) from Bogotá, according to the US Geological Survey and Colombia’s Servicio Geológico Colombiano (Colombian Geological Survey). The quake originated at a depth of more than 100 kilometers, classifying it as a deep intraslab event tied to the Nazca Plate’s subduction beneath the South American Plate. Tremors were felt as far away as Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru.

As of August 12, Colombian authorities had confirmed more than 188 deaths, over 1,600 injuries, 222 people missing, and 260 people still trapped in debris, according to the Unidad Nacional de Gestión del Riesgo de Desastres (National Disaster Risk Management Unit, UNGRD) and figures reported by El Tiempo; earlier tallies from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) put damaged homes at close to 5,000, with 61 buildings collapsed and more than 550 schools and 24 health facilities affected across roughly 16 departments. Chocó, Valle del Cauca, Caldas, Risaralda, and Quindío sustained the heaviest damage. President Abelardo De La Espriella declared a national disaster, invoked an economic emergency, and decreed three days of national mourning.

Colombia’s Foreign Ministry, the Cancillería, installed an international cooperation command post led by Foreign Minister Omar Bula to field and coordinate offers of assistance from foreign governments and multilateral organizations. Vice President José Manuel Restrepo said more than 12 countries had formally pledged humanitarian aid or rescue personnel, and that multilateral institutions alone had presented cooperation proposals totaling $1.3 billion USD in assistance of various kinds. “We have already received proposals worth $1.3 billion USD in cooperation of various kinds from multilateral organizations in the midst of this tragedy,” Restrepo said.

“We have already received proposals worth $1.3 billion USD in cooperation of various kinds from multilateral organizations in the midst of this tragedy.” — José Manuel Restrepo, Vice President of Colombia

United States

The US Department of State said it mobilized an initial $15.5 million USD in emergency shelter, food, and protection assistance, along with post-earthquake structural assessments, according to an August 11 media note from the department’s Office of the Spokesperson. The funding is being channeled through five partner organizations: Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Miyamoto International, the UN World Food Programme, and World Vision. Of the total, $3 million USD routed through CRS draws on funding already committed under a separate, previously announced global assistance award to that organization, meaning it does not represent new incremental spending beyond what State had already budgeted for CRS programming.

The department also activated a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART), a standing mechanism of humanitarian specialists drawn from across the State Department, with members arriving in Colombia the day of the earthquake to coordinate needs assessments and the broader US government response alongside embassy personnel in Bogotá.

Separately from the new $15.5 million USD package, the State Department noted that as part of its existing $3.8 billion USD contribution to OCHA, the United States had previously provided $200 million USD to the Colombia Pooled Fund, a standing mechanism OCHA can draw on for earthquake-related needs as well as humanitarian programming in Colombia that predates the earthquake. That $200 million USD figure reflects prior funding availability rather than a new pledge tied specifically to the August 10 disaster.

On consular matters, the US Embassy in Bogotá remained open and continued providing emergency and routine passport, notarial, and consular services; its consular agency in Barranquilla also remained open. The embassy advised American citizens in Colombia to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) at step.state.gov and to follow [@USEmbassyBogota](profile/USEmbassyBogota) and [@TravelGov](profile/TravelGov) on social media for security updates. US citizens seeking assistance can reach the Bureau of Consular Affairs at 888-407-4747 from within the United States, or +1-202-501-4444 from other locations.

Multilateral development banks

The World Bank disposed $200,000 USD in a non-reimbursable grant, without an associated credit line, to fund post-earthquake damage assessments. Susana Cordeiro Guerra, the World Bank’s vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean, offered technical expertise drawn from the institution’s experience responding to disasters elsewhere, in addition to the grant.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved $500,000 USD in non-reimbursable technical cooperation funding, of which $350,000 USD was made immediately available to the Colombian Red Cross and $150,000 USD earmarked for technical support, Restrepo said. Separately, IDB Group President Ilan Goldfajn said the institution has up to $300 million USD in contingent emergency financing available to Colombia should the government request it; wire reports including CNBC and CBC cited a related figure of $50 million USD as immediately available for reconstruction support, reflecting different tranches or reporting of the same contingent facility.

CAF, the Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina y el Caribe (Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean), pledged $500,000 USD in humanitarian donations to be channeled through its Social and Human Development Funds, CAF executive president Sergio Díaz-Granados said.

European Union

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced €2.1 million EUR in humanitarian funding for health, water, sanitation and hygiene, shelter, food, protection, and cash assistance in the hardest-hit areas, according to the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department (ECHO). The European Union activated its Civil Protection Mechanism, which pools resources among the bloc’s 27 member states, and deployed its Copernicus satellite mapping service to support damage assessment. A further €100,000 EUR was reallocated from an existing EU-funded project implemented by the German Red Cross to meet immediate needs of roughly 2,500 families in Chocó and Valle del Cauca.

Switzerland

The Swiss government approved 1 million CHF (about $1.23 million USD) in aid, with half directed to the UN World Food Programme and local nongovernmental organizations for emergency assistance and the remainder allocated to restoring living conditions in destroyed areas, according to the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Swiss President Guy Parmelin offered solidarity with Colombia the day of the earthquake.

Spain

Spain’s Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development, AECID) mobilized an initial €1 million EUR package covering shelter materials, water and sanitation kits, medication, and support for deployed health personnel, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said. Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported no confirmed Spanish fatalities as of August 12, though it had not yet located 75 Spanish nationals believed to have been in the affected region.

El Salvador

El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, dispatched two aircraft carrying 100 tons of humanitarian aid along with medical and rescue teams, according to the Presidencia de la República de El Salvador (Presidency of the Republic of El Salvador).

Ecuador

Ecuador’s Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility) sent 47 rescuers with canine units and equipment provisioned for seven days of operations.

Mexico

Mexico deployed 255 specialized military search-and-rescue personnel, including canine handlers and medical staff, along with 4 tons of medications, 8.4 tons of food, satellite phones, radios, generators, and tents, according to Mexico’s Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

Peru

Peru sent a plane carrying 12.5 tons of supplies and 62 rescuers through its Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

Chile

Chilean President José Antonio Kast offered his government’s civil and technical resources through Chile’s Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), without publicly specifying the scope.

Venezuela

Venezuela’s government, through Vice President and Foreign Minister Delcy Rodríguez and the Ministerio del Poder Popular para Relaciones Exteriores (Ministry of People’s Power for Foreign Affairs), said it would send rescue brigades, an announcement that drew domestic criticism within Colombia given the state of bilateral relations.

Brazil

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva pledged solidarity and said logistical and technical teams were on standby through Brazil’s Ministério das Relações Exteriores (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

Argentina

Argentina’s Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Comercio Internacional y Culto (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship) offered material assistance, civil protection assets, and logistics support.

Additional Latin American and Caribbean support

Several other countries in the region conveyed solidarity or more limited offers of support:

• Panama — President José Raúl Mulino offered collaboration “within our capacity” through the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Panamá (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama).
• Costa Rica — The government conveyed solidarity through its Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship).
• Dominican Republic — President Luis Abinader said his country stood ready to provide assistance, coordinated through the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de República Dominicana (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic).
• Guatemala — The disaster-response agency, the Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de Desastres (National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction, Conred), remained in contact with Colombian counterparts to determine whether a formal request for assistance would follow, President Bernardo Arévalo de León’s government said.
• Cuba — Expressed willingness to help without publicly detailing specific commitments.
• Bolivia — Expressed willingness to help without publicly detailing specific commitments.

Other countries

Vice President Restrepo named Japan, Sweden, and Turkey among the more than 12 governments that formally offered humanitarian aid or rescue support, though itemized figures for their pledges were not publicly available as of this writing. Israel, France, Germany, Italy, and Ukraine also expressed readiness to coordinate assistance, according to Colombian media reporting, without confirmed dollar figures attached to those offers.

Red Cross and Red Crescent movement

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) launched an emergency appeal for 11.7 million CHF to support the Colombian Red Cross, which activated its National Crisis Room and deployed a 30-member urban search-and-rescue team from its Antioquia branch to Chocó, alongside volunteers from its Quindío and Caldas branches. The Colombian Red Cross also activated its Restoring Family Links service to help reunite people separated from missing relatives.

Private sector

Among corporate contributions, Spanish bank BBVA (BME: BBVA) (NYSE: BBVA) said it would provide 3,500 food and hygiene kits, including nonperishable staples and personal care items, distributed through Colombia’s regional food bank network.

How to contribute

Colombian donors and members of the international community seeking a vetted local channel for contributions can direct support through somosone.com.co, the Colombian strategic-philanthropy platform operated by ONE Inversión Social. The organization has partnered with Sankofa Danzafro, La Pascasia, and Presentes Corporación on a Chocó-focused relief campaign, with a donation page linked from the platform’s homepage.

Investment capital was primarily concentrated in the technology, creative industries, infrastructure, and commerce sectors. Major sources of this investment included the United States, Colombia, Brazil, and France. To promote further capital attraction, ACI Medellín hosted two investment rounds: one focused on traditional sectors such as agribusiness, energy, health, infrastructure, and technology; and a second round concentrated on the audiovisual sector, executed in partnership with the Film Commission of the Medellín City Hall. These efforts were supported by collaborations with the Mesa de Inversión de Antioquia and the Medellín Chamber of Commerce for Antioquia.

Several companies announced new investments or reinvestments in the city, including Renault Sofasa, TaskUs (NASDAQ: TASK), iQor, Accenture (NYSE: ACN), Poma, Rivana Business Park, Softserve, and DHL (XETRA: DPW).

Medellín went from $3 million USD in international cooperation in 2024 to a projected $8 million USD  with projects in the process of closure before the end of the year.

Cooperation Funding and Global Network Engagement

The city also reported a projected increase in international cooperation funds, with management expecting to close 2025 with nearly $8 million USD in projects, up from $3 million USD managed in 2024. This growth was partially driven by alliances with philanthropic organizations.

ACI Medellín collaborated with several key foundations to support social and environmental initiatives outlined in the city’s Development Plan. Noteworthy projects include a partnership with The Carter Center, which provided $50,000 USD and technical assistance to the Secretary of Women’s “Informando a las Mujeres, Transformando Vidas” project, aimed at strengthening gender-focused communication strategies for women caregivers. Other philanthropic entities involved in supporting various projects include Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Hilton Foundation, and Sparkassen Stiftung from Germany.

Medellín maintained its engagement in global city networks to advance sustainable development objectives. From 2024 to 2025, the city participated actively in platforms such as C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, Mercociudades, CIDEU, and Metropolis. This participation led to the receipt of cooperation grants, training scholarships for municipal staff, and technical assistance for specific projects, such as Primavera Norte, which received support through the C40 and GIZ networks. As a member of the C40 Steering Committee, Mayor Federico Gutiérrez participated in global network activities, during which projects like the Corredores Verdes program, which the city credits with contributing to a 2 °C reduction in urban temperature, were presented.

Medellín Mayor Federico Gutierrez (photo courtesy of the mayor’s office)

Recognition and Diaspora Strategy

In recognition of its social policies, the city’s School Feeding Program (Comedores Escolares) received the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact award in the Social and Economic Equity category. Medellín was one of six cities selected from 173 applicants globally, and the award included a financial contribution of €20,000 EUR. The award recognized the program’s integrated strategy, which focuses on providing nutritional food for children, strengthening food security, and supporting purchases from local producers.

Additionally, the Sos Paisa Network was relaunched in 2025. The initiative focuses on connecting the Antioquian diaspora with opportunities in Medellín, specifically aligning their knowledge with local Science, Technology, and Innovation (CTI) projects. This renewal effort aims to leverage the global scientific and academic diaspora for local development.

According to Cristina Zambrano, Executive Director of ACI Medellín, the figures confirm a growing international engagement. The executive noted that from 2008 through 2025, the agency has managed $4.084 billion USD in foreign direct investment, generating an estimated 44,000 jobs in the Aburrá Valley, in addition to $134 million USD in international cooperation.

The enterprise value of the transaction is up to $2.905 billion MXN, equivalent to approximately $609 billion COP based on the current exchange rate. The equity value of the transaction is up to $1.598 billion MXN, representing approximately $335 billion COP.

The agreement has been signed, but the transaction’s completion is contingent on a series of closing conditions, including the approval of the Mexican competition authority, the Comisión Federal de Competencia Económica (COFECE). The fulfillment of these conditions requires the joint effort of buyers, sellers, and other involved third parties, introducing an element of uncertainty regarding the final closing.

Since 2021, Grupo EPM has been evaluating options to improve TICSA’s performance and optimize its corporate portfolio. In line with this strategy, a decision was made in late 2023 to pursue a total divestment through an open and competitive sale process. The process invited 33 potential strategic investors and investment funds from various countries, including Canada, Spain, France, the United States, Japan, and Mexico. Odinsa ultimately submitted the most favorable offer and was selected for the final phase, culminating in the signing of the share purchase agreement.

“At Grupo EPM, we are adjusting our investment portfolio to focus our human and financial resources on markets and projects where we have greater opportunities for growth, value creation, and sustainability,” stated John Maya Salazar, general manager of EPM and leader of the EPM Group. “TICSA is a company with proven technical capabilities and a distinguished track record in the water sector. In the hands of a manager like Odinsa, with a strong investment capacity and proven experience in structuring, operating, and maintaining infrastructure assets, its development and expansion can be enhanced.”

In 2013, TICSA became part of Grupo EPM after a capital investment gave the company a majority stake, making it the first international water sector company in the corporate group. Subsequently, Grupo EPM acquired 100% of its shares in 2019. To date, TICSA has constructed and operated more than 160 water treatment plants, consolidating its technical leadership in Mexico and other markets.

Tecnología Intercontinental, S.A.P.I. de C.V. (TICSA). Photo credit: Ticsa Grupo EPM/Facebook.

This balance was presented during the Medellín 2025 Investment Roundtable, a meeting led by ACI Medellín and the Medellín Chamber of Commerce for Antioquia, with the support of ProColombia, Ruta N, ANDI del Futuro, and the Government of Antioquia. In this space, 27 local and regional companies held one-on-one meetings with national and international investment funds in search of capital that allows them to grow, innovate, and consolidate their expansion. Beyond attracting new companies, this strategy strengthens the brownfield model by connecting companies already established in the territory with sources of financing to scale their operations and generate a sustainable impact.

The city has reported 18 new foreign direct investment projects and more than 8,000 jobs projected in 2025. Photo credit: ACI Medellín.

In the most recent Investment Roundtable organized by ACI Medellín and the Medellín Chamber of Commerce for Antioquia, 27 businessmen and 19 investors participated, generating 127 business appointments. As a result of this connection exercise.

“The results of this semester ratify that Medellín is a reliable partner for investment and cooperation. We managed more than USD 168 million and nearly 8,000 jobs, connecting international capital and development finance with high-impact public and private projects in our region. From ACI Medellín, we are carrying out a determined work of global positioning so that the city continues to be on the map of international investment. Cases such as those of Accenture, Recurly, or Health Prime, and projects such as Primavera Norte, which received technical assistance from the C40 program, are proof that internationalization transforms territories, strengthens trust among all actors in society, and is reflected in a better quality of life for our people. Our commitment is clear: to work in an articulated way so that Medellín is increasingly competitive, generates sustainable social development, and multiplies opportunities for those who inhabit it,” said Cristina Zambrano, executive director of ICA Medellín.

Ruta N, a strategic ally of ACI Medellín, has been key in strengthening the city’s science, technology, and innovation ecosystem. In coordination with ProColombia and the ACI, it facilitated the establishment of 10 new companies in the STi sector from the United States, Ukraine, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia, consolidating Medellín as a competitive destination for technology-based companies.

At the Investment Roundtable, more than 27 local and regional companies met with 19 national and international investors to raise capital to boost their growth. Photo credit: Loren Moss.

Through the Medellín Venture Capital program, Ruta N builds local and foreign investment capacities, mapping and attracting more than 200 regional funds interested in investing in the city, training more than 100 new venture capital investors, structuring new investment vehicles, and creating an active investment community with angel investors. Family offices, corporates, and funds. In addition, Ruta N, in alliance with Bancoldex, has invested $3.2 million USD in an investment fund in the city, which in total will make around $10 million USD available to 30 FinTech startups in the region.

Ruta N, in addition to supporting investment rounds with the ACI, also promotes the connection between investors and startups through Startia, the brain of the city’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, with more than 350 technology-based ventures mapped and more than 300 investors, where effective connections can be generated organically. From an international point of view, Ruta N has great allies such as the Royal Academy of Engineering and the government of the United Kingdom, with which in 2025 it allocated £200,000 GBP to the training and scaling of entrepreneurs in the city.

ACI Medellín also highlighted key advances in international cooperation. In this first half of the year alone, Medellín managed $2.58 million USD in technical and financial cooperation, with projects that address issues such as financial education with a gender approach, circular economy, data for public management, and strategies to combat hunger. The city was also selected for international programs such as the City Data Alliance and Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge 2025.

Photo credit: ACI Medellín.

Though Petro has cycled through ministers, Francia Marquez was popularly elected and cannot be removed from office by the President, though he can, and has removed her responsibilities, such as her appointment to the newly created “Ministry of Equality.”

“We are wanted in the photo but not in decision making. We are wanted as a symbol, but not as a people with a voice.”

In an emotional speech on July 25^th, Marquez “canto la tabla” as is said in Spanish, in other words, give someone a “severe talking to” as she denounced what she says is the mendacity, hypocrisy, and bigotry of Petro and his administration.

“We are wanted in the photo but not in decision making. We are wanted as a symbol, but not as a people with a voice. We are wanted to be obedient and if we do not obey, then comes punishment, political violence, cancellation and public dehumanization,” said Marquez, in Spanish, giving a speech in Cali, near her home turf of the Colombian Cauca department.

The vice president spoke at an international women’s event called “Juntas por la Restauración de Nuestra Dignidad” (Together for the Restoration of Our Dignity) held at the Universidad Libre, or Free University of Cali. Marquez stated that she has held her tongue for a long time, but she had to speak in her defense after political rivals close to Petro have called her arrogant and a traitor.

“…But I soon went from being the political phenomenon, the heroine, to being the traitor. Because in this country, when a woman rises, suspicion follows her. The system does not ask about her abilities, but rather whether she is in the place she deserves. If she steps outside the assigned margin, then she is arrogant, disloyal, clumsy, incapable and dangerous.”

Marques also referred to the controversy surrounding her time leading the Ministry of Equality, where she has been denounced for a perceived lack of execution in setting up the new ministry or executing against its mandate.

“From the campaign until today, I have experienced many episodes of delegitimization, sabotage and exclusion. I will tell you just a few. I was given the mission of creating an institution with no structure, no resources, no support. They told me ‘do it yourself.’ And when I argued that three vice ministries were too many, they demanded [I appoint] five. And I did it despite the systematic blockade. They accuse me of not executing, when they never gave me the instrument to do so.” In this case, Marquez is referring to the President’s inner circle wanting her to appoint vice ministers of their choice as sinecures, irrespective of need or capability.

Gustavo Petro, with the appointment of Francia Marquez as his running mate, tried to position himself as a racial progressive in Colombia, a country with a complex social fabric that struggles to overcome classism, regionalism, and political polarization, along with ethnicity. However, his treatment of Marquez along with many bigoted statements he has made during his term, arguably have exposed him as disingenuous at best, and one could make the case, racist.

“No one who is black can tell me!”

President Petro insisted upon the appointment of porn stars Alejandra Umaña (Amaranta Hank) and Juan Carlos Florián to political positions, which Marquez opposed on the grounds of their lack of qualification. Petro angrily responded in a televised ministerial meeting saying “No one who is black can tell me that a porn actor who created the sex workers’ union should be excluded,” not explaining why a black person would be excluded from having an opinion on the topic, as opposed to anyone else.

Then Foreign Minister Murillo (left) with Petro in better days between the two, earlier this year.

Petro’s former foreign minister says comments are “unacceptable”

The bigoted statement drew a rebuke from Petro’s former foreign minister, former ambassador to the US, and former governor of Chocó, Luís Gilberto Murillo, who said: “Do not say that ‘I don’t accept that a black tells me such and such a thing,’ because that racializes the discourse in Colombia, and even worse when it comes from the presidency of Colombia. It’s unacceptable, because we need to advance this inclusive nation.”

Petro, along with his penchant for calling people who disagree with him “neonazis,” has also made racist comments against people with a white phenotype such as US President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macrón. Facing Macrón in a conference earlier this month, Petro said “It’s easier to win votes with a lie and a fetish, saying that life will be better if we expel those who don’t have the same skin color, language, or religion…”to which Macrón shot back: “I never lecture someone from the South, and it’s a little strange to be lectured by someone from the South, just because they come from the South!”

French President Emmanuel Macrón Rebukes Petro in Spain

Petro seems to fancy himself an orator and leader of what some call the “Global South” but no one seems willing to follow him. In his own country, support hovers around 26-30% according to recent polls, and his frequent verbal gaffes are constant fodder for jokes and internet memes. Winning his election by a tight mandate against an ailing outsider candidate who died a few months later, Petro constantly refers to his “popular mandate” as if he has the support of the Colombian populace.

By appointing Francia Marquez, an Afrocolombian lawyer and community activist as his running mate, Petro, a leftist ex-guerilla, sought to define himself as progressive and inclusive. However, three years into his presidency, he and his political clique openly despise Marquez, excluding her from public events and important meetings. During the opening of this summer’s congressional session, she was excluded from the presidential entourage and had to make her own arrangements, as is her constitutional right, to attend the legislative session. Marquez is a nationally elected official, and as such, she does not owe fealty to the president and has the right to dissent. Still, Petro’s attitude towards her and others destroys whatever credibility he claims as a feminist and inclusive crusader for human rights.

Right away, the situation raised concerns of child sexual exploitation, echoing similar cases in Medellín.
The Mayor of Medellín, Federico Gutierrez, shared the details of the case on X/Twitter to express his rejection of sexual exploitation of children and teenagers. “Last year we increased the arrests of foreigners for this crime by 1,100%. We will continue until we eradicate the sexual exploitation of children and teenagers in Medellín,” he tweeted.

The two French nationals were arrested for crimes of commercial sexual exploitation of minors, while the minors were handed over to the ICBF (Colombian Institute of Family Welfare).

However, according to the Colombia newspaper El Tiempo, investigations by the Attorney General’s Office of Colombia revealed that the teens, who had been invited by the French men to their accommodation, took advantage of the fact that the two men were under the effects of substances to rob them and beat them, contrary to the first version that was known. El Tiempo points out that they intended to steal around $700,000 Colombian pesos (approximately $175 USD) from the foreigners.

Based on this evidence, the Attorney General’s Office charged the teens with qualified aggravated theft. The 16-year-old was placed in a juvenile detention center, while the 15-year-old was released but remains under judicial oversight. Both denied the charges. On the other side, the case against the French nationals continues, and they have not been cleared of the allegations of child sexual exploitation.

Headline Photo: Casa Kiwi Hostel, Medellin (Photo: Facebook / Casa Kiwi Hostel, Medellin)

Agromatch Generates $6 Million in Business Potential

Agromatch, Expo Agrofuturo’s business matchmaking platform, brought together 251 exhibitors and 60 buyers from countries including Argentina, Aruba, Colombia, Curacao, Ecuador, Slovenia, the United States, Guatemala, Panama, and Venezuela. The platform facilitated 524 meetings among participants, with reported business expectations totaling approximately $6.16 million. This year, exhibitors included 94 representatives from Colombia’s Ministry of Agriculture, underscoring the event’s focus on small and medium-sized producers.

Expo Agrofuturo’s 18th edition is scheduled to be held in Medellín from September 10 to 12, 2025.

Broad Regional and International Participation

Expo Agrofuturo’s exhibitors showcased a variety of products and services ranging from crop varieties, fertilizers, and machinery to transportation and logistical solutions. Representatives from Colombia’s diverse regions, including  and Cundinamarca, displayed products highlighting the country’s agricultural diversity.

International representation included notable participation from Chile, which showcased its agricultural export strength and expertise in fruit and vegetable production, a sector that generates significant revenue as the country’s leading non-copper export category. According to ProChile, Chile’s agricultural exports span 970 products, reaching over 170 destinations, with the United States, China, and Japan as primary markets. Poland and other countries, including China, Argentina, France, the Netherlands, the United States, Peru, and Uruguay, also participated, reflecting ongoing interest in accessing Colombian agricultural markets.

Casanare: Featured Region

Casanare participated as the featured region this year, bringing 20 exhibitors focused on the region’s food processing innovations. “We aim to promote sustainable development in the region through initiatives in cacao, coffee, and other agricultural transformations,” stated Casanare Governor César Ortiz Zorro. Exhibits from the region included automated fertigation systems powered by wind and solar energy, hybrid water extraction technologies, and a range of tropical fruit-based snacks.

Technology and Knowledge Exchange Through FIXA and Agrotalks

The event’s technology focus was highlighted through the display of agricultural drones, advanced machinery, and applications designed to streamline farm management. According to Agrilink co-founder Ricardo Jaramillo, digital tools and artificial intelligence are playing an increasing role in aiding farmers with planting schedules and productivity decisions.

Agrotalks, Expo Agrofuturo’s educational component, provided 1,900 attendees with insights from more than 60 speakers on topics such as sustainability, climate change, biotechnology, soil care, and the role of technology in agriculture. Agrotalks hosted sessions at three different venues within Corferias, with significant contributions from exhibitors, including representatives from Colombia’s rural development-focused Utopía Project.

Additionally, the Forum for Innovation in Agrofuturo (FIXA) hosted 505 attendees and presented discussions on livestock and agriculture, featuring international representatives who examined global agricultural advancements and challenges.

Exhibitor Feedback on Expo Agrofuturo 2024

Several exhibitors shared positive feedback on their experience at the event. Andrés Ramírez of BJ Agriculture highlighted a 200% growth in sales compared to previous years, noting the presence of a well-targeted and informed audience. Miguel Ángel Chávez of Cimecol S.A.S. and Adriana Afanador, manager of Proplantas S.A., also commented on the event’s business-oriented atmosphere, reporting positive sales outcomes and increased interest in Colombian agribusiness.

Expo Agrofuturo’s 18th edition is scheduled to be held in Medellín from September 10 to 12, 2025, continuing its role as a hub for agricultural innovation and business development in the region.

Expo Agrofuturo’s 18th edition is scheduled to be held in Medellín from September 10 to 12, 2025 (photo: Corferias).

Photos courtesy Corferias

A wastewater analysis has indicated that in Europe, cocaine from South America is now being consumed in smaller towns, as well as major urban areas.

Photo: A dismantled cocaine laboratory in Tolima, Colombia. (Credit: Colombian Air Force)

The report, published on March 20 by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), is the institution’s latest annual overview of drug residues used to estimate cocaine consumption across participant cities in Europe. This year, the report analyzed results from approximately 90 cities and towns, though several major cities, including London, Madrid, and Berlin, did not participate.

It found that the Belgian city of Antwerp, a vital port for the arrival of drugs from Latin America to Europe, remains the continent’s cocaine consumption capital, while eastern European states — particularly the Czech Republic and Slovakia — continue to dominate in methamphetamine consumption, though that is changing slowly.

The report also looked beyond the European Union for the first time to compare residues at a global level, including cities in the United States and Brazil in its analysis.

Researchers tested the cities’ sewage systems for indications of how much cocaine the population is consuming, which they estimate in milligrams per 1,000 inhabitants per day (mg/1000p/day).

Wastewater studies measure only drugs that have been consumed, not those that were dumped, João Matias, a scientific analyst at the EMCDDA and one of the authors of the study, told InSight Crime.

“Once inside our bodies, the drug is metabolized. Once excreted to the sewage system, researchers can take samples before the water is treated. We look for the metabolites produced after the use of a specific substance,” said Matias.

Here, InSight Crime analyzes the report’s findings on the increasing prevalence of cocaine and methamphetamine outside of major cities in Europe, as well as new data from non-EU cities.

Disparities Between Urban and Non-Urban Consumption Dissolve

This year, researchers noted that differences in residue readings between urban and non-urban settings in Europe no longer exist, suggesting that traffickers have flooded the continent with cocaine, and it is now available almost everywhere.

“Contrary to previous years, in most countries with multiple study locations, no marked differences were found when comparing large cities to smaller locations,” according to the report.

Record coca cultivation and cocaine production in nations on the supply side of the cocaine trade have enabled this spread.

Authorities in Colombia, the world’s largest cocaine producer, seized 739.5 tons of the drug in 2023, an increase from the 659 tons seized in 2022. Peru saw a 4.4% drop in seizures of cocaine but 53% more cocaine base, while Bolivian seizures jumped by 62%.

The Colombian government’s announcement in March that it would reduce eradication efforts to 10,000 hectares, half of 2023’s target, is likely to see coca cultivation increase still further this year.

Even with these record seizures in Latin America, seizures in Europe also continued to climb. Europe’s traditional entry points — Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain — all increased their seizures. Sweden and Russia, countries not known for receiving cocaine, saw large single seizures of 699 kilograms and 460 kilograms respectively, while Norway made its largest-ever cocaine seizure of 800 kilograms.

The report also found that cocaine residues have doubled since 2011 among the seven cities that have participated in the study each year.

From 2011, the daily value of cocaine residue across Antwerp in Belgium, Zagreb in Croatia, Milan in Italy, Eindhoven and Utrecht in the Netherlands, and Castellón and Santiago in Spain, rose from 341 mg/1,000p/day to 747 mg/1,000p/day in 2023. Last year, the rate in these cities was slightly higher, at 800 mg/1,000p/day.

The increase in consumption is “definitely related to the increased availability [in Europe] and the increased production of cocaine in South America,” Matias said.

Methamphetamine’s Slow Spread

The report also found that methamphetamine use has spread into new areas of the continent, while seizures of the drug both in Latin America and Europe have made the news.

“Methamphetamine use, generally low and historically concentrated in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, now appears to be present also in Belgium, Cyprus, the east of Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Turkey and several northern European countries,” said the report. However, overall, the study found that the amount of methamphetamine consumed remained stable.

“One of the highlights of last year’s report was that we were seeing an increase in methamphetamine use over most of Europe,” said Matias. “This year we found use in many countries, but we didn’t see the same increase in use we saw in the previous years.”

Methamphetamine, a synthetic drug, has traditionally been supplied to the European market by local actors, including in the consumption heartlands of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

However, in 2019, multiple arrests of Mexican or other Latin American methamphetamine cooks in the Netherlands and Belgium suggested that the “Mexican method” — the production of methamphetamine used in Mexico which produces a high-quality drug — was being learned by European producers. Since 2019, there have been no other arrests, implying that a transfer of knowledge has taken place.

The vast majority of methamphetamine production in Mexico usually takes place in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, and is then trafficked to the United States. Significant amounts of methamphetamine have arrived to European shores recently, though the majority was intended for onward travel.

In February 2024, Ireland made its largest-ever methamphetamine seizure of 546 kilograms, worth some $35 million. The drugs had come from Mexico and were on their way to Australia, police said. The shipment was traced back to the Sinaloa Cartel.

At the beginning of September, Mexican authorities discovered 20 tons of suspected methamphetamine aboard a ship in Veracruz, on Mexico’s Atlantic coast, according to a press release. The ship was headed for Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Non-EU Cities Rival European Cocaine Habits

For the first time, the EMCDDA report included wastewater results from non-European Union cities. Cities in the United States, Switzerland, and Brazil “show similar levels of use as the cities in Europe with the highest loads,” found the report.

Seattle in the United States recorded a daily mean of 647 mg/1,000p, while Geneva in Switzerland recorded 812mg/1,000p. The northeastern Brazilian city of Recife had a daily mean of 670 mg/1,000p.

These results are around the same as European cities like Utrecht (744), Paris (616), and Barcelona (619), but still far below the big hitters like Antwerp (1,722), the highest of all participant cities by a distance, or Amsterdam (1,210).

While cocaine consumption may be entrenched in many regions of the world, Oceania remains relatively untouched, according to residue findings. The daily mean of 102 mg/1,000p across Australia’s 55 sites suggests a dearth of the drug, and provides plenty of reasons for organized crime groups to continue, and perhaps even increase, their attempts to move cocaine to this untapped market.

This article, written by Peter Appleby, was originally published by InSight Crime, a Medellín-based foundation dedicated to the investigation and analysis of crime and security in Colombia and Latin America.

The flight will be operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner and depart Bogotá at 1:25 pm, landing at 6:40 am at Charles de Gaulle International Airport, every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday.

The return trip will leave Paris at 8:40 am, arriving at 12:40 pm back to El Dorado International Airport in the Colombian capital, on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

“Thanks to the work articulated with governments, authorities, and airports in Colombia and France, we are very proud to bring Latin America closer again with one of the main tourist destinations in Europe, which joins the cities we have already reached: Madrid, Barcelona, and London,” said Frederico Pedreira, CEO and president of Avianca in the company’s announcement.

“In addition, this route allows European tourists to visit our continent since, from the Colombian capital, they will be able to connect with more than 50 national and international destinations offered by Avianca.”

As noted by the executive, this marks Avianca’s fourth destination in Europe with direct service from Colombia.

Overall, the Bogotá-based airline will now fly to 26 countries, with Paris marking the carrier’s 76th destination.

Click above to watch and listen!

• Petro’s health reform buried in the Colombian senate
• Geopark (NYSE: GPRK) launches a stock buyback
• Avianca launches flights to Montreal & Paris, but gets fined for unfair competition
• New Colombian Public Debt ETF launched
• Antioquia’s governor asks for public donations to complete highways
• Improvements in the road connecting Medellín to its international airport
• Economic uncertainty affecting foreign investment
• Corrupt prosecutor sent to jail
• Luis Carlos Sarmiento retires from Grupo Aval (NYSE: AVAL)
• Chickens being sacrificed and their blood spattered over Bogotá’s Metro Construction project. See: https://x.com/andreanimalidad/status/1770142966411317525?s=20
• Medellín is fighting back against perverts like Dominick DiVincenzo and Timothy Alan Livingston
  • Medellín’s New Mayor Cracking Down on Vice and Sex Tourism Amid Local Fury
  • Two US Citizens Arrested for the Sexual Exploitation of Minors in Colombia

Construction workers torture chickens on Bogotá Metro project:

#Denuncia🚨 Violencia contra animales (¿santería?) en obra del @MetroBogota @Bogota ‼️

El hecho atroz ocurrió en la Av Boyacá con 1a de mayo. Quién nos envió el video, dice que trabajadores hacen esto cada vez que terminan una etapa de la obra.

Sres @AnimalesBOG @FiscaliaCol… pic.twitter.com/haUm9bNE8A

— Andrea Padilla Villarraga (@andreanimalidad) March 19, 2024

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