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[POLITICS] · Colombia · 7 sources

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Gustavo Petro challenges earthquake response via legal right to reply

Former Colombian President Gustavo Petro has announced he will exercise his legal right to reply following a presidential address by Abelardo de la Espriella regarding the August 10 earthquake response. Petro criticized the government's management of the disaster, describing the aid to victims as “absurdly ineffective.”

The political dispute is intensified by discrepancies in casualty data. While President de la Espriella cited 289 deaths and 143 missing persons based on National Risk Management Unit data, Medicina Legal reported 348 missing persons. The earthquake affected 450 municipalities across 15 departments, causing significant destruction to homes, health centers, and schools.

In response to the crisis, the government declared a state of economic emergency and introduced the “Plan Milagro de Reconstrucción” to fund recovery efforts. The Pacto Histórico party has designated Petro and Senator Iván Cepeda to lead the formal opposition through the legal right to reply, aiming to demand greater transparency regarding the use of public resources and the efficiency of rescue operations.

Entities

Abelardo De La Espriella · Colombia · Gustavo Petro · Iván Cepeda · Medicina Legal · National Risk Management Unit · Pacto Histórico

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