Colombia battles wildfires and criminal arson in Tolima

Colombia is facing a severe wildfire emergency, with the department of Tolima being the most heavily impacted. The National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) reports 21 active fires across five departments, including Nariño, Cundinamarca, Valle del Cauca, and Huila. In Tolima alone, over 300 units, including the military, police, and civil defense, are working to contain blazes in multiple municipalities.

President Abelardo de la Espriella has alleged that many of these fires are being intentionally set by criminal groups to cause chaos and destroy rural livelihoods. In response, the government is forming an elite intelligence unit to identify arsonists, offering a reward of up to 50 million pesos for information. Additionally, the President has placed a 1,000 million peso bounty on two leaders of the ‘Gerónimo Galeano’ front, Andrés Calambás (alias ‘Yamaha’) and Florentino Goyocué (alias ‘Leonel’), whom authorities link to terrorist activities in the region.

To mitigate the economic impact, the government has announced over 9,000 million pesos in aid. This includes 7,000 million pesos for crop and productive unit recovery, 2,000 million pesos for livestock support, and subsidies for rural housing. The administration is also implementing credit relief for affected producers.