Mexico says Colombia rejected its earthquake rescue team

What the report says

Mexico and Colombia are at odds over whether a Mexican military rescue team was allowed to join earthquake response efforts in Colombia after Monday’s magnitude 7.4 quake. President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Thursday that Mexico had been told its rescuers were travelling, then later informed that Colombia was instead asking for another certification even though the team was already certified. Colombia’s foreign minister and disaster officials denied that the decision was political and said the country was accepting foreign help that met international recognition standards.

According to Al Jazeera, Colombia has already taken in other support from Mexico, including food and medical supplies, while additional rescue and humanitarian teams have been organized from the United States, El Salvador, Ecuador and Israel. Officials in Bogotá said foreign teams must be internationally certified, with reference to INSARAG, the UN-backed system for urban search-and-rescue work.

The dispute comes as the main survival window after a major earthquake has closed and the death toll continues to rise. Government figures cited by Al Jazeera put the number of dead at 273, with more than 3,800 injured and 377 people still missing. Aid and rescue efforts are continuing across affected areas, where officials are also beginning to plan for longer-term reconstruction of hospitals, schools, homes and infrastructure.