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Former Colombian leader Gustavo Petro stated on Wednesday that the administration of President Abelardo de la Espriella did not effectively utilize the resources and capabilities put in place during his time to address the earthquake crisis.

“It is clear that the efforts made by my government in public health and the geographic coverage of medical services were not utilized because of sectarianism and lack of knowledge,” he said during a speech from Bogota.

Petro also blamed the government for permitting an Israeli ‘military intelligence’ operation within Colombian territory during the crisis and raised doubts about the qualifications of rescuers dispatched by Israel.

“Do not allow individuals who demolish structures with living children inside to enter the buildings. They are unaware of this; they are there for a different reason,” he stated.

Petro also raised the question of why the Benkos Bioho Hospital Ship, designed to deliver medical services to coastal and riverine areas, stayed in the port of Buenaventura for seven days amid the crisis.

“The vessel might have delivered medical teams along the shore and even navigated the rivers of the Pacific,” Petro mentioned, noting that during his time in office, it had conducted 7,882 operations along the coast.

As per Petro, his administration had set aside 9,000 million pesos, approximately 2.9 million dollars, for an immediate reaction after an earthquake. He mentioned that the whereabouts of these funds are still unclear.

He also criticized the government’s actions during the initial 100 hours of the crisis, which he termed ‘basic’.

“The failure of the incoming government’s transition, orchestrated by Abelardo, transformed those hours into a catastrophe, worse than the existing one,” he added.

Petro also challenged the government’s refusal of certain international assistance and claimed that the move to ‘politicize’ it had repercussions on the death toll.

The official count of earthquake casualties is 319 deceased, 4,469 injured, and 260 unaccounted for, with 364 individuals successfully rescued. The destruction encompasses 151,995 homes that are damaged, 30,803 that are completely destroyed, and 302 buildings that have collapsed.