Judge Gives Colombia’s First Lady 48 Hours on Quake Funds
(MENAFN) A court has ordered Ana Lucia Pineda, Colombia’s first lady, to make public a line-by-line record of every private donation her foundation collected for survivors of the Aug. 10 earthquake, and to do so within 48 hours.
Pineda, wife of President Abelardo de la Espriella, heads Colombia Luz y Sonrisas, which handles a large portion of the private money pledged for relief and rebuilding after the magnitude 7.4 quake. The disaster killed more than 330 people, destroyed over 30,000 homes and affected hundreds of thousands more.
In Thursday’s ruling, the court directed the foundation to file a full management report explaining “in a clear, precise, and consistent manner” how it used all funds it has “received, administered, channeled, or distributed.”
The order stems from a legal action by opposition Senator Alejandro Ocampo, who contested the foundation’s accounting after it left 20 detailed questions only partly answered. The questions covered donor identities, administrative costs and oversight mechanisms.
“When the government asks citizens to donate to a private foundation, those funds become subject to public scrutiny,” Ocampo said after the ruling. “Now we are going to find out where the money is.”
Opposition: Recovery Lagging
Opposition figures say that almost three months on, vital aid has still not reached battered communities in western Colombia, where damage is put at $9.5 billion. Critics also point to a gap between De la Espriella’s public announcements of more than $200 million in combined relief pledges and what has actually been delivered on the ground.
An interim report covering activity through mid-October said the foundation had handled more than $17 million in private donations and that 48,000 people had received emergency assistance. The filing drew sharp criticism, however, for leaving out itemized spending records for destroyed homes, schools and hospitals.
In a recent interview, Pineda defended the delay, saying the money was deliberately kept back from immediate distribution. She said the funds are earmarked for a second, structural reconstruction phase, arguing that “humanitarian aid was sufficient” during the initial emergency.
She added that her initiative aims to build lasting, permanent housing for families who lost everything.
Frustration grew on Oct. 31, when the first lady visited a municipality in the western department of Caldas to unveil signs for public works but brought no housing units or emergency supplies. With the judge’s 48-hour deadline now running, the administration faces rising political pressure to account for every emergency resource.
Pineda, wife of President Abelardo de la Espriella, heads Colombia Luz y Sonrisas, which handles a large portion of the private money pledged for relief and rebuilding after the magnitude 7.4 quake. The disaster killed more than 330 people, destroyed over 30,000 homes and affected hundreds of thousands more.
In Thursday’s ruling, the court directed the foundation to file a full management report explaining “in a clear, precise, and consistent manner” how it used all funds it has “received, administered, channeled, or distributed.”
The order stems from a legal action by opposition Senator Alejandro Ocampo, who contested the foundation’s accounting after it left 20 detailed questions only partly answered. The questions covered donor identities, administrative costs and oversight mechanisms.
“When the government asks citizens to donate to a private foundation, those funds become subject to public scrutiny,” Ocampo said after the ruling. “Now we are going to find out where the money is.”
Opposition: Recovery Lagging
Opposition figures say that almost three months on, vital aid has still not reached battered communities in western Colombia, where damage is put at $9.5 billion. Critics also point to a gap between De la Espriella’s public announcements of more than $200 million in combined relief pledges and what has actually been delivered on the ground.
An interim report covering activity through mid-October said the foundation had handled more than $17 million in private donations and that 48,000 people had received emergency assistance. The filing drew sharp criticism, however, for leaving out itemized spending records for destroyed homes, schools and hospitals.
In a recent interview, Pineda defended the delay, saying the money was deliberately kept back from immediate distribution. She said the funds are earmarked for a second, structural reconstruction phase, arguing that “humanitarian aid was sufficient” during the initial emergency.
She added that her initiative aims to build lasting, permanent housing for families who lost everything.
Frustration grew on Oct. 31, when the first lady visited a municipality in the western department of Caldas to unveil signs for public works but brought no housing units or emergency supplies. With the judge’s 48-hour deadline now running, the administration faces rising political pressure to account for every emergency resource.
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