Colombian Sen. Miguel Uribe Turbay, a conservative presidential hopeful, was in “serious” condition Sunday following surgery for a gunshot wound at a political rally a day earlier, Bogota’s mayor said. The attack took place in a park in the Fontibon neighborhood in Bogota when armed assailants shot him from behind, said the right-wing Democratic Center, which was the party of former president Uribe. The Attorney General’s Office, which is investigating the shooting, said the senator received two gunshot wounds in the attack, which also wounded two others. Their identities and conditions have not been disclosed. The office said a 15-year-old boy was arrested at the scene with a firearm.
Elizabeth Dickinson, a security analyst at Crisis Group, told The Associated Press that the assault on the senator was a throwback to a time in Colombia “when violence converted into a political tool at the highest levels.” The incident has frightened Colombians, she added, because it highlights a recurring cycle of violence “even inside families that have been suffering its consequences for decades.” The intellectual author of the shooting, she said, “clearly had the intention to stir up the country.”
The senator announced his presidential bid in early March. Colombia will hold a presidential election on May 31, 2026, marking the end of President Gustavo Petro’s term. Late on Saturday, after leading an extraordinary Security Council session, Petro promised “complete transparency” in the investigation and to find out who was behind the attack.
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