Looting and distress | The other tragedy left by the earthquake in Colombia on the past August 10: this is what has happened in two months

NewsIn Cali, Pereira and Armenia, evacuated buildings have become targets for criminals. Meanwhile, authorities are reinforcing surveillance. Mexican rescue brigade Los Topos Aztecas in Cali after the earthquake. Photo: EFEPERIODIST10.10.2026 15:58 Updated: 10.10.2026 16:27 10.10.2026 15:58 Updated: 10.10.2026 16:27 Álex Méndez sleeps in a tent in front of the building where he once had a life. In another, set up on the median of 9th Street, he placed a table and his computer. From there he manages what remains of Los Cerezos, a tower in Cali severely damaged by the earthquake last August 10. He cannot return to his apartment, but he does not dare leave either, because behind the cracked walls his neighbors' belongings remain. "On three occasions, at night, they tried to break into the tower by force," he says. At first, residents took turns keeping watch. Then the police arrived and many were able to recover some things and find shelter, but Méndez stayed. It has now been two months since the magnitude 7.4 earthquake devastated much of western Colombia. As attention on the rubble diminishes, another drama is emerging in Cali, Pereira and Armenia: evacuated homes, abandoned businesses, and families who, in addition to losing their roof, fear losing the little they left inside. In southern Cali, Patricia Collazos left the Alcalá I building with her husband, her two children and her cat. They now live in a borrowed room. By day she sees workers and officials; at night, she says, strangers come to prowl around the empty buildings. "There's the occasional policeman who does a lap around the area," she says. In Granada, to the north, dancer Camilo Zamora reports that criminals crossed over from a neighboring, nearly destroyed building into his. They took cables, tools and electrical components. His greenish-blue Miyata bicycle, of enormous sentimental value, also disappeared. "They even drank the wine," he recounts. The threat is not limited to apartments in well-off areas. In Chiminangos, neighbors staying in makeshift shelters heard gunfire near the shelter. Jaime Díaz says a man was killed and that fear overtook them. In Altos de Santa Elena, community leader Milton Durán describes families forced to guard, from tents, the homes they cannot inhabit. On September 18, the community detained an alleged robber accused of wounding a minor with a sharp weapon. Landslides on roads in Caldas require heavy machinery intervention. Photo:CourtesyFor military analyst retired general Pedro Federico Przychodny Jaramillo, the violence in Cali after the earthquake may stem from several factors related to new dynamics of control and territorial disputes among the city's criminal gangs. "With an event as strong as the earthquake, many people end up affected and some spaces change their dynamics, so realignments begin to occur among criminal gangs. Added to that is the vulnerability in which people are left, especially the victims, who become targets of these organizations," the analyst explains. From his point of view, in this type of emergency criminals see affected homes as loot: "There are groups that are already beginning to dispute territories to loot or commit crimes. The most coveted are those recently evacuated." Earthquake in Colombia. Photo:CourtesyAnother factor he considers decisive is the deployment of the Public Force. Despite the numerous contingents of uniformed personnel that arrived in the affected areas, he says much of it ended up performing guard duties instead of operational patrols. "There are a lot of police, but they were assigned to guard the victims' belongings, a factor that gangs have exploited to commit crimes in areas with little police control," he adds. From the Secretariat of Security and Justice, they indicated that they are implementing a comprehensive surveillance strategy in the sectors with the greatest structural damage. "We established fixed posts with the Metropolitan Police. Many of them, to date, still remain around these affected areas to deter theft of items around the buildings or inside them. Additionally, we guarantee patrols and constant rounds by private security companies that, through the support network, immediately activate the authorities," explained Cali's deputy secretary of Security, Natalia Zuluaga. In Pereira, Carlos Arango returned to his business and found that thieves had stripped almost everything. "The only things they left were a chair and the mannequins because they didn't fit," he says. They took merchandise, computers and even lamps. Other merchants report break-ins with angle grinders at businesses affected by the earthquake. In Invico and downtown, the evacuated properties have also been illegally occupied. The Police reported 20 arrests for that reason through October 5. Earthquake in Colombia Photo:Sergio Cárdenas - Daniel Fernando López / EL TIEMPOColonel Óscar Ochoa, metropolitan commander, reported that he assigned 200 police officers to the critical zones, reinforced night patrols on horseback and with thermal drones, accompanied 240 demolitions, and carried out more than 100 ground patrols and 50 aerial ones. The Mayor's Office is also working to restore lighting so that businesses can stay open later. On 19th Avenue between 12th and 13th streets in Armenia, the shops that once sold motorcycles and spare parts were left empty due to structural risk. Elena Mejía, a resident of the area, says they have been looted and turned into places of occupation and decay. "Now it has become a problem not only for the owners, who had everything looted, but for everyone, because it has become a social problem: there is a lot of vandalism, and because of the bodily needs they attend to there, it is affecting all of us with the horrible smells," said Mejía. Viviana Páez, a worker in the area, acknowledges that the patrols have improved the situation, but says that when they leave, the occupants return. Earthquake in Colombia Photo:Sergio Cárdenas - Daniel Fernando López / EL TIEMPOArmenia's Government Secretary, Carlos Arturo Ramírez, noted that a focus of insecurity arose there "because of some people, some homeless, who are dismantling these properties, a situation that has happened in several areas of the city, not only here downtown but in several areas. Our National Police, with the capacities it has, has been present in some of those areas, containing this situation." And he added: "These properties are private; there is a person responsible and there is an owner. The Political Constitution establishes that private property is a constitutional and legal right that must be safeguarded by those who own them."Álex Méndez sleeps in a tent in front of the building where he once had a life. In another, set up on the median of 9th Street, he placed a table and his computer. From there he manages what remains of Los Cerezos, a tower in Cali severely damaged by the earthquake last August 10. He cannot return to his apartment, but he does not dare leave either, because behind the cracked walls his neighbors' belongings remain. Dimar rules out tsunami in Colombia Photo:Courtesy"On three occasions, at night, they tried to break into the tower by force," he says. At first, residents took turns keeping watch. Then the police arrived and many were able to recover some things and find shelter, but Méndez stayed. It has now been two months since the magnitude 7.4 earthquake devastated much of western Colombia. As attention on the rubble diminishes, another drama is emerging in Cali, Pereira and Armenia: evacuated homes, abandoned businesses, and families who, in addition to losing their roof, fear losing the little they left inside. In southern Cali, Patricia Collazos left the Alcalá I building with her husband, her two children and her cat. They now live in a borrowed room. By day she sees workers and officials; at night, she says, strangers come to prowl around the empty buildings. "There's the occasional policeman who does a lap around the area," she says. Earthquake in Colombia Photo:Juan Pablo Rueda / EL TIEMPOIn Granada, to the north, dancer Camilo Zamora reports that criminals crossed over from a neighboring, nearly destroyed building into his. They took cables, tools and electrical components. His greenish-blue Miyata bicycle, of enormous sentimental value, also disappeared. "They even drank the wine," he recounts. The threat is not limited to apartments in well-off areas. In Chiminangos, neighbors staying in makeshift shelters heard gunfire near the shelter. Jaime Díaz says a man was killed and that fear overtook them. In Altos de Santa Elena, community leader Milton Durán describes families forced to guard, from tents, the homes they cannot inhabit. On September 18, the community detained an alleged robber accused of wounding a minor with a sharp weapon. Earthquake in Colombia Photo:Sergio Cárdenas - Daniel Fernando López / EL TIEMPOFor military analyst retired general Pedro Federico Przychodny Jaramillo, the violence in Cali after the earthquake may stem from several factors related to new dynamics of control and territorial disputes among the city's criminal gangs. "With an event as strong as the earthquake, many people end up affected and some spaces change their dynamics, so realignments begin to occur among criminal gangs. Added to that is the vulnerability in which people are left, especially the victims, who become targets of these organizations," the analyst explains. From his point of view, in this type of emergency criminals see affected homes as loot: "There are groups that are already beginning to dispute territories to loot or commit crimes. The most coveted are those recently evacuated." Another factor he considers decisive is the deployment of the Public Force. Despite the numerous contingents of uniformed personnel that arrived in the affected areas, he says much of it ended up performing guard duties instead of operational patrols. Earthquake in Colombia Photo:Sergio Cárdenas - Daniel Fernando López / EL TIEMPO"There are a lot of police, but they were assigned to guard the victims' belongings, a factor that gangs have exploited to commit crimes in areas with little police control," he adds. From the Secretariat of Security and Justice, they indicated that they are implementing a comprehensive surveillance strategy in the sectors with the greatest structural damage. "We established fixed posts with the Metropolitan Police. Many of them, to date, still remain around these affected areas to deter theft of items around the buildings or inside them. Additionally, we guarantee patrols and constant rounds by private security companies that, through the support network, immediately activate the authorities," explained Cali's deputy secretary of Security, Natalia Zuluaga. In Pereira, Carlos Arango returned to his business and found that thieves had stripped almost everything. "The only things they left were a chair and the mannequins because they didn't fit," he says. They took merchandise, computers and even lamps. Other merchants report break-ins with angle grinders at businesses affected by the earthquake. In Invico and downtown, the evacuated properties have also been illegally occupied. The Police reported 20 arrests for that reason through October 5. Earthquake in Colombia Photo:Sergio Cárdenas - Daniel Fernando López / EL TIEMPOColonel Óscar Ochoa, metropolitan commander, reported that he assigned 200 police officers to the critical zones, reinforced night patrols on horseback and with thermal drones, accompanied 240 demolitions, and carried out more than 100 ground patrols and 50 aerial ones. The Mayor's Office is also working to restore lighting so that businesses can stay open later. On 19th Avenue between 12th and 13th streets in Armenia, the shops that once sold motorcycles and spare parts were left empty due to structural risk. Elena Mejía, a resident of the area, says they have been looted and turned into places of occupation and decay. "Now it has become a problem not only for the owners, who had everything looted, but for everyone, because it has become a social problem: there is a lot of vandalism, and because of the bodily needs they attend to there, it is affecting all of us with the horrible smells," said Mejía. The damage identified corresponds to an educational institution in San Antonio de Palmito. Photo:CourtesyViviana Páez, a worker in the area, acknowledges that the patrols have improved the situation, but says that when they leave, the occupants return. Armenia's Government Secretary, Carlos Arturo Ramírez, noted that a focus of insecurity arose there "because of some people, some homeless, who are dismantling these properties, a situation that has happened in several areas of the city, not only here downtown but in several areas. Our National Police, with the capacities it has, has been present in some of those areas, containing this situation." And he added: "These properties are private; there is a person responsible and there is an owner. The Political Constitution establishes that private property is a constitutional and legal right that must be safeguarded by those who own them." YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN: The progress of Bogotá's metro, the rise in rents Photo: Follow all the news from Colombia on Facebook and Twitter, or in our weekly newsletter. EL TIEMPO NEWSLETTERSSign up for our newsletters and receive news in your email according to your interests. Stay informed about what really matters to you. EL TIEMPO GOOGLE NEWSFollow us on GOOGLE NEWS. Always stay up to date with the latest news, coverage, stories and analysis directly on Google News. EL TIEMPO WHATSAPPJoin El Tiempo's channel on WhatsApp to stay up to date with the most relevant news as it happens. EL TIEMPO APPStay informed with the EL TIEMPO app. Receive the latest news, coverage, stories and analysis directly on your device. 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