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Humanitarian aid and logistics

Cali confirms arrival of 50 Salvadoran tonnes and outlines a multi-origin aid flow

Editorial illustration for “Cali confirms arrival of 50 Salvadoran tonnes and outlines a multi-origin aid flow”
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Updated August 12, 2026 at 3:38 p.m. Colombia time

Cali’s Mayor’s Office confirmed at 7:54 a.m. Colombia time on August 12 that 50 tonnes of humanitarian aid sent by El Salvador had arrived. Twenty-two minutes later, Mayor Alejandro Eder described a broader flow through Alfonso Bonilla Aragón Airport: about 75 tonnes received from several origins and another 65 tonnes expected during the afternoon. These figures cover scopes that may overlap and must not be added together.

Fifty Salvadoran tonnes confirmed in Cali

The Mayor’s Office post says 50 tonnes from El Salvador arrived in Cali during the early hours. It describes food, medicine and medical supplies without giving a landing time, flight number or detailed cargo breakdown.

A second 50-tonne Salvadoran flight remained scheduled for the afternoon of August 12. That future arrival had not been confirmed when the post was published.

A municipal update covering several origins

At 8:16 a.m., Alejandro Eder said about 75 tonnes of humanitarian aid had been received at Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport from the United States, Bogotá and El Salvador. His post uses the reference “yesterday” without giving the arrival times of each shipment.

The mayor also announced another 65 tonnes expected during the afternoon from Peru and El Salvador. This is a logistics forecast, not a volume already confirmed on the ground.

Why the tonnages cannot be added

The 100 tonnes previously announced by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele cover two flights. The 50 tonnes confirmed by the Mayor’s Office are one shipment that arrived from El Salvador. The roughly 75 tonnes cited by the mayor combine several origins, while the 65 tonnes remain expected.

Because the periods and shipments may overlap, a total produced by adding 100, 50, 75 and 65 tonnes would be misleading. The announcements must remain separate until a consolidated municipal inventory is published.

From departure to relief organisations

The official sequence began at 1:09 p.m. on August 11 with El Salvador’s announcement of 100 tonnes on two flights. Colombia’s Foreign Ministry reported flight coordination at 11:10 p.m. and confirmed the first aircraft’s departure at 12:50 a.m. on August 12.

The municipal confirmation at 7:54 a.m. now establishes the arrival of a 50-tonne shipment. The mayor says received goods are being channelled through relief organisations to where they are needed. This stage does not yet establish a quantified final handover to families.

Confirmations still awaited

The next useful markers are the actual arrival of the 65 tonnes announced for the afternoon, the departure and arrival of the second Salvadoran flight, a consolidated inventory by origin and confirmation of final destinations.

No beneficiary list, volume handed over by municipality or completed final distribution has yet been published.

Collection is centralised at Casa Grande de la Solidaridad

At 2:35 p.m., the Mayor’s Office was still listing several collection points. At 3:03 p.m., Mayor Alejandro Eder said Ciudadela Petronio, renamed Casa Grande de la Solidaridad, would become Cali’s sole collection centre. The later announcement supersedes the multi-site arrangement for donations made after the change.

The site is to receive, organise and dispatch aid from international partners and the public to families in Cali and affected municipalities in Valle del Cauca, Chocó and the Coffee Region. The announcement does not yet quantify volumes dispatched from the centre.

Update history

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