Colombia's newly inaugurated president, a Trump ally who won office with the former president's backing, is now asking Trump to temporarily lift tariffs on Colombian goods as the country reels from a 7.4 magnitude earthquake that killed at least 289 people.

President Abelardo de la Espriella posted on X Saturday night that he had spoken with Trump by phone, thanked him for American earthquake aid, and formally requested a pause on tariffs hitting Colombian exports. The appeal came less than a week after the quake flattened entire neighborhoods across western Colombia, leaving nearly 15,000 homes destroyed and thousands of people unaccounted for.

The Trump administration has not responded to the request. De la Espriella, who took office just days before the earthquake struck, framed the ask as economic relief for Colombian businesses already buckling under the combined weight of tariffs and natural disaster. Newsmax reported that de la Espriella wrote on X that he had asked Trump "to consider the temporary suspension of the high tariffs that affect Colombian products, in order to provide relief to our businesspeople, who are facing very difficult times due to the effects of the earthquake."

289 dead, thousands missing, and a government scrambling to respond

The earthquake hit Monday morning, centered in the Choco region, one of the poorest parts of Colombia, along the Pacific coast. Cities including Pereira, Cali, and Quibdo absorbed severe damage. The Colombian government reported 3,937 people injured, 14,705 homes destroyed, and another 81,536 damaged.

Official government figures listed 143 people as missing. But civilian-run databases put the number in the thousands, a gap that raises hard questions about the government's ability to account for its own citizens in a crisis zone. In Cali alone, Colombia's third-largest city, more than 70 people remained missing.

Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder, speaking from a unified command post in the city, struck a determined tone even as rescue teams pushed past the critical 48-to-72-hour survival window. More than 120 hours had elapsed since the quake when Eder addressed the public.

"We are working where we know there are still victims; we are working in the hope of rescuing people alive."

Eder added that "miracles do happen," though the math of survival beneath rubble grows grimmer with each passing day.

De la Espriella won with Trump's backing, and now needs his help

The political backdrop makes this request more than a routine diplomatic ask. De la Espriella won Colombia's presidency in a closely contested runoff on June 21, and Trump backed him during the campaign. AP News reported that de la Espriella leveraged his close relationship with Trump to make the tariff appeal, a dynamic that illustrates how Trump's trade posture gives him direct leverage over allied foreign leaders, not just adversaries.

That pattern has repeated itself across multiple fronts. Trump has asserted his expectations clearly in dealings with leaders ranging from Israel's Netanyahu to European NATO allies, making plain that alliances come with obligations.

De la Espriella had barely settled into office before the earthquake forced him into crisis management. His administration declared the quake a natural disaster, and the U.S. State Department confirmed an offer of $26.5 million in aid, including food, shelters, and health supplies. De la Espriella publicly thanked Trump for the assistance in the same X post where he requested the tariff suspension.

The dual message, gratitude and a fresh ask, reflects the position de la Espriella finds himself in. He owes a political debt to Trump, he needs American money for earthquake relief, and he wants tariff relief on top of it. Whether that combination earns a favorable answer remains to be seen.

$26.5 million in U.S. aid already committed, but tariff relief is a bigger prize

The $26.5 million in direct aid is significant but finite. A tariff suspension, even a temporary one, could provide broader economic breathing room for Colombian exporters, coffee, flowers, petroleum products, and other goods that face higher costs entering the U.S. market under current trade policy.

The Washington Examiner noted that de la Espriella publicly thanked Trump for the aid while simultaneously requesting tariff relief, a move that underscores how dependent Colombia's recovery strategy is on American goodwill. The Trump administration's silence so far leaves the request hanging, neither granted nor denied.

Trump has shown willingness to use tariffs as leverage and to adjust them when it suits broader strategic interests. Canada, for instance, ultimately reached a deal with Trump on the Gordie Howe Bridge toll dispute after extended negotiations, a reminder that concessions flow in both directions when the U.S. holds the stronger hand.

De la Espriella's ask is different in kind. He is not negotiating from a position of resistance. He is a political ally asking for help during a genuine humanitarian emergency. That distinction may matter. Or it may not, Trump has consistently signaled that trade policy serves American interests first, regardless of the relationship.

Rescue crews race against time as the missing count grows

On the ground, the situation remains dire. The gap between the government's official count of 143 missing and the thousands reported by civilian databases suggests either a massive information failure or a deliberate effort to minimize the scale of the disaster. Neither explanation inspires confidence in the Colombian government's crisis response.

The Choco region, where the earthquake's epicenter sat, is remote and underdeveloped even by Colombian standards. Infrastructure there was limited before the quake. After it, entire communities along the Pacific coast have been cut off or flattened. The 14,705 homes listed as destroyed represent families, not structures, and the 81,536 classified as damaged could push the displacement numbers far higher as aftershocks and structural instability take their toll.

Foreign leaders have increasingly found that engaging with Trump requires accepting his terms. European allies have faced direct pressure on defense spending and territorial disputes, while domestic political figures have learned similar lessons about the cost of opposing Trump-backed candidates.

De la Espriella is not opposing Trump. He is asking for a favor, from a position of weakness, during a disaster, as a brand-new president who owes his election in part to Trump's endorsement. The dynamics could not be more straightforward.

Even within the United States, political figures have adjusted their calculations after seeing the consequences of running against Trump's preferred direction. De la Espriella appears to have made that calculation before he even took office.

No answer yet from Washington

The Trump administration has offered money, supplies, and shelters. It has not offered tariff relief. The silence is not a refusal, but it is not encouragement, either. De la Espriella made his case publicly, on social media, where the ask is visible to both American and Colombian audiences. That choice carries its own risks. A public rejection would be embarrassing for a president still in his first month.

The earthquake's death toll stands at 289 and could rise. Rescue teams in Cali and across the Pacific coast are still pulling through rubble well past the window where survival odds favor them. The humanitarian need is real and urgent.

But tariffs are trade policy, not disaster relief. De la Espriella is asking Trump to treat them as the same thing, to fold economic concessions into the humanitarian response. That is a political ask dressed in humanitarian clothing, and Trump has shown no particular inclination to conflate the two.

When the rubble clears, the tariffs will still be there. And so will the question of whether a friendly foreign leader's phone call carries more weight than the trade principles that put those tariffs in place.