LatinNews Daily - 12 August 2026

*The president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Ilan Goldfajn, has announced up to US$300m in emergency finance for Colombia in response to the earthquake which struck on 10 August causing widespread destruction across western Colombia. He also announced up to US$500,000 in non-reimbursable funds for humanitarian assistance and damage assessment. Also yesterday, Colombia’s Vice President José Manuel Restrepo said that the government had received confirmation of over US$1.3bn in cooperation from multilateral institutions for the reconstruction of homes and infrastructure, while the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has announced that the European Union is “supporting Colombia wherever possible” and is “making €2 million [US$2.31m] available to support communities in the most affected areas”. Meanwhile on 10 August the US Department of State announced that the government of President Donald Trump, an ally of Colombia’s new far-right administration led by President Abelardo de la Espriella which took office on 7 August, is committing US$15.5m in funding for “emergency shelter, food, protection and earthquake assessments”.