Bogotá (AFP) – A judge ordered Colombia's first lady to publish, within 48 hours, detailed accounts of the donations her foundation received to care for victims of a devastating earthquake, according to the ruling obtained by AFP on Thursday.

First modification: 06/11/2026 - 18:15

Ana Lucía Pineda, wife of right-wing president Abelardo de la Espriella, is in charge of a good part of the private contributions to care for hundreds of thousands of people affected and repair the damage caused by the 7.4 magnitude earthquake that occurred on August 10.

The judge ordered his Luz y Sonrisas foundation to deliver a "management report" in which it details "in a clear, precise, consistent manner" what it has done with the contributions it "received, administered, channeled or distributed," according to the document.

The foundation, created shortly after the president's election, reported in October having received more than $17 million.

But the opposition and some local media question that the donations announced by De la Espriella on his social networks total more than 200 million dollars.

They also assure that almost three months later the aid is not reaching the most affected areas in the west of the country, where losses are estimated at about 9.5 billion dollars.

The decision responds to a judicial appeal filed by leftist senator Alejandro Ocampo.

"Now we are going to know where the money is," said the congressman in a video on X.

The report presented by Pineda indicates that 48,000 people received humanitarian aid, without specifying what type.

Nor does it detail the money spent in the places where thousands of homes, schools and hospitals were left in ruins.

Pineda assured in an interview with Telecaribe that the resources were not used "because the humanitarian aid was sufficient." He added that the money will be used in a second phase of reconstruction.

On October 31, the first lady inaugurated some fences in a municipality in the department of Caldas (west), but did not deliver houses or aid, which generated criticism.

"When the government says to collect it from a private foundation, that money now comes under public scrutiny," Ocampo added.

The strong earthquake left more than 330 dead and destroyed more than 30,000 homes.

© 2026 AFP

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