State Neglect Compounds Colombia's Devastating Earthquake Crisis in Buenaventura

Buenaventura, Colombia – Lorena Hipis sits in her living room, gazing emptily into the kitchen as the harsh midday sun beats down. The walls have been shaved off one side of her house, and a gaping hole punctures what used to be the roof. "The whole thing came crashing down," said Hipis, gesturing to the wreckage of a five-storey building next door that collapsed during Monday's 7.4-magnitude earthquake, destroying half of her home and flattening her mother's house nearby. Four people inside died.

Hipis lives in Buenaventura, a city of 432,000 on Colombia’s Pacific coast that suffered widespread destruction. Though her city is home to the country's largest port, she fears it will be overlooked in the broader recovery effort. "The municipality, the state and the government haven't come here," she said on Thursday. In her daughter’s bedroom, metal rebar hangs from the ceiling, while jagged chunks of concrete and brick threaten to tumble to the floor at any moment. Hipis fears that what remains of her roof will collapse under the weight of the debris from the neighbouring building, expressing desperation for help to clear it.

Buenaventura is one of several cities and towns where residents fear a pattern of state neglect will affect how resources are distributed after the deadly earthquake. An estimated 287 people were killed across the country, roughly 19 of whom died in Buenaventura. Locals worry that greater care will be paid to major provincial capitals like Pereira and Cali, as opposed to areas with higher levels of poverty like their own.

In Buenaventura alone, some 540 homes have collapsed and 3,416 sustained damage, leaving some 330 residents injured. At the Luis Ablanque de la Plata District Hospital, several wards have been out of operation following the earthquake, forcing the injured to lie by the dozens in beds under tents outside in the hospital’s sweltering car park while waiting to be treated.

Bryan Reyes, 29, sustained three fractures in his leg after jumping out of a first-floor window to escape the earthquake. A shipyard worker who carries cargo for a living, he called the earthquake response evidence of Buenaventura's long history of institutional neglect. "It is a total abandonment. It’s like the people here just don’t matter," he said, pointing to the lack of resources and chronic under-investment at the hospital.

Historically, Buenaventura has lagged in socioeconomic development compared with urban hubs like Cali. According to 2024 government estimates, 15.4 percent of Buenaventura's population lives in multidimensional poverty—more than double the rate in Cali, where 6.7 percent experience the issue. In 2025, the civic monitoring group Buenaventura Como Vamos (BCV) found that 72 percent of residents struggled to find work, and approximately 70 percent reported having to eat fewer than three meals a day due to insufficient food. Additionally, some 88.5 percent of the city identifies as being of African descent, representing a historically marginalised minority ethnic group.

Many affected locals, including Betsy Tenorio, criticised the local government's response as insufficient. Her grandfather Arnulfo was killed when his house collapsed on him in the impoverished Barrio Oriente neighbourhood because he was unable to escape due to paralysis on the right side of his body. Despite a visit from the city’s mayor on the day of the earthquake, Tenorio said her family has heard nothing from authorities since, relying instead on immense community support.

Alfonso Grueso, president of the Association of Community Action Boards, estimated that the homes of some 750 residents were damaged in Barrio Oriente. He noted that aside from the mayor’s initial tour, the state has offered no assistance. According to a survey by Buenaventura Como Vamos, 64 percent of locals distrusted the mayor’s office last year, and 57 percent expressed distrust in the national government.

Security has also emerged as a major concern in the earthquake’s aftermath. While authorities in Cali have militarised the city with soldiers patrolling the streets, locals say no such measures have been rolled out in Buenaventura. Jorge Montez, a parking attendant, noted that anti-extortion and kidnapping military units patrolling his area were pulled away due to a prison riot, leading to immediate looting. Volunteers in Barrio Oriente also reported needing police escort to deliver aid due to concerns over local gang violence.

Experts warn that the earthquake may aggravate deep-rooted systemic problems. Social worker Iveth Dalissa Caceres predicted that poverty rates will rise, viewing underdevelopment, violence, and disasters in the Pacific region as compounding, cyclical problems. Despite these struggles, Caceres highlights the community's resilience, noting how she and hundreds of other locals coordinated relief efforts to run a community kitchen providing 400 meals to affected areas like Barrio Oriente.