New Facts: Colombia Limits Rescue Teams to Four Countries

Colombia’s government said it will accept foreign search-and-rescue teams from only four countries, narrowing which international crews can work in the quake zone.

The cap applies to specialized urban search-and-rescue units and is meant to keep operations tightly coordinated with Colombia’s national command structure.

Officials framed the limit as a logistics decision: airports and roads are strained, and too many outside teams can clog staging areas and slow the work.

The move came three days after the Aug. 10 earthquake, as the typical 72‑hour survival window was closing and hundreds of people were still unaccounted for.

By restricting the number of teams, Colombia is concentrating the final rescue push with a smaller set of partners while managing scarce transport, fuel, and communications on the ground.

AI-synthesized from multiple reported sources