At 1:45 p.m. on August 11, an UNGRD letter said there was no need at that stage to request or activate international urban search and rescue teams. That operational decision did not mean Colombia was rejecting all foreign assistance.
A decision limited to the 1:45 p.m. assessment
The document, digitally signed by Javier Pava, says the needs assessment and national capabilities then available did not justify activating international USAR teams. Its wording describes that moment and does not establish a permanent ban.
Pava told EL PAÍS that Colombia had 23 USAR groups. This describes an existing capability; it does not show that all 23 groups were mobilised at the same time.
Several foreign offers had been received
According to statements reported by the newspaper, offers of specialised personnel had come from El Salvador, Peru, Israel and the United States. The initial decision was not to activate those teams through the international mechanism at that stage.
It should be distinguished from support by volunteers already present, including the Mexican Topos, whose administrative formalisation remained necessary according to the published follow-up.
Material and specialised needs remained
Colombia simultaneously requested other forms of assistance: field hospitals and thousands of food, hygiene, shelter, water and sanitation, and kitchen kits. The initial non-activation of USAR teams therefore did not cancel the appeal for international cooperation.
The categories should remain separate: an urban search team, a field hospital and a humanitarian aid shipment address different operational needs.
Twenty-two US specialists welcomed on August 12
The Foreign Ministry had announced at 10:24 a.m. that 22 specialists from Los Angeles and Virginia were expected. The EL PAÍS follow-up published at 1:17 p.m. says Colombian diplomats welcomed them that morning.
The sources examined give no arrival time, landing place or first assignment. No rescue outcome can yet be attributed to them.