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Amid the controversy that has arisen over the limitations announced by the Colombian government regarding the receipt of international aid following the devastating 7.4 magnitude earthquake that struck Colombia early this week, the Topo Mayor of Mexico, Héctor Méndez, denounced that he is facing “obstacles” in carrying out his rescue efforts with the civil organization Topos Azteca.
What is happening with the rescues in Colombia and foreign aid? According to what the Topo Mayor revealed in an interview with the local outlet Proclama del Pacífico, the search and rescue efforts of the Topos Azteca have been hampered by certain obstacles and requests that prevent them from accessing disaster zones.
As he explained, the fire chief of Cali, who is participating in the aid efforts, has complicated his work and that of Topos Azteca, as they have been asked for a document certifying that they have life insurance to access the disaster zones.
“The fire chief, defending an ephemeral power base, his 15 minutes of fame, trying to obstruct and pretending, asking me if I had life insurance for each of the members, I said to him: ‘Listen, let's speak with respect. There are 40 Venezuelans and people coming, Mexicans and Venezuelans, and you ask me, you make absurd requests,’” the rescuer recounted.
The expert said that the civil organization arrived in Colombia with the goal of helping, not doing anyone else’s job: “What’s more, what we came to do, you don’t do. And those below are obstructing you, I mean, I’m not here for your job. We are rescuers (...) What we came to do, you don’t do because you are afraid,” he pointed out.
Prior to this interview, the Topo Mayor was questioned on a radio program about the arrival of the Mexican rescuers in Colombia. Host Néstor Morales asked him if he had entered the country with official authorization from the government: “How many Topos like you arrived in Cali (...)? Did you arrive coordinated and authorized by the national government?”
In response, Méndez firmly replied that they were not doing political work since the members of the rescue organization are not politicians or diplomats, but people dedicated to helping others in disasters like the earthquake that occurred a few days ago.
“We are volunteers and we answer the call of duty. We are not diplomats, we don’t request permits; we go where duty calls us. If I start following bureaucratic administrative protocols, I will never get anywhere,” the 80-year-old noted.
In this context, it should be noted that the government of Colombia limited the receipt of search and rescue support and humanitarian aid solely to countries such as the United States, El Salvador, and Israel. Support from Mexico was vetoed by the Colombian authorities, as detailed by President Claudia Sheinbaum this morning.
“Yesterday I commented that the rescuers, the Army rescue brigade, had gone to Colombia, but no,” she noted, adding that an additional certification was requested to allow the Mexican team’s assistance.
[Publicidad]