Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Shot at Campaign Event
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Colombian presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe is in critical condition after being shot during a political event in Bogotá, prompting widespread condemnation across the political spectrum.
Senator Uribe, a contender for the 2026 presidential election, was shot on Saturday in Bogotá’s Fontibón district.
Uribe, 39, is a member of the center-right Democratic Center party, the country’s largest opposition group.
He had recently expressed his intention to run for president.
The Attorney General’s Office said Uribe was shot twice and remains in critical but stable condition.
Police arrested a 15-year-old suspect at the scene carrying a Glock pistol.
Uribe was participating in a campaign event when he was attacked, according to his party.
Video footage showed police and civilians rushing him into an ambulance.
"Uribe’s condition is stable, still in critical condition," Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo told Caracol TV.
His wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, posted on his X account asking for prayers.
“Miguel is fighting for his life right now. Let us ask God to guide the hands of the doctors who are treating him,” she wrote.
Uribe comes from a prominent political lineage.
He is the grandson of former President Julio César Turbay Ayala, who led Colombia from 1978 to 1982.
His mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was kidnapped and later killed during a rescue operation in 1991.
His grandmother, Nydia Quintero de Balcázar, founded the humanitarian group Solidarity for Colombia.
Uribe entered the Senate in 2022, following a career in local politics in Bogotá.
He represents the right wing of Colombian politics and supports foreign investment and national security.
In October 2024, he announced his candidacy at the site of his mother’s death.
“I could have grown up seeking revenge, but I decided to do the right thing: forgive, but never forget,” he said at the time.
His party has not yet selected an official presidential candidate.
The shooting has sparked condemnation from across the political landscape.
President Gustavo Petro posted on X: “I don’t know how to ease your pain. It is the pain of a mother lost, and of a wounded homeland.”
The Foreign Ministry called the attack “a direct affront to democracy, respect for differences, and the free exercise of politics in our country.”
It urged authorities “to fully clarify this serious incident.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the attack “in the strongest possible terms,” calling it “a direct threat to democracy.”
Rubio blamed the violence on “the violent leftist rhetoric coming from the highest levels of the Colombian government.”
He urged Colombian officials to tone down “the inflammatory rhetoric.”
The Democratic Center party called the shooting “an unacceptable act of violence.”
“We strongly reject this attack, which not only endangers the life of a political leader but also threatens democracy and freedom in Colombia,” the party said.
Former presidents Ernesto Samper, Álvaro Uribe Vélez, Juan Manuel Santos, and Iván Duque also condemned the attack.
Centro Democrático is the political home of both Uribe and Duque.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa expressed solidarity with Uribe’s family and condemned “all forms of violence and intolerance.”
The attack has revived painful memories of Colombia’s violent political past.
In the late 1980s and early ’90s, several presidential candidates were assassinated.
Uribe is part of a generation of leaders shaped by that history.
He shares that legacy with Bogotá Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán, son of assassinated leader Luis Carlos Galán.
His Senate rival, María José Pizarro, is the daughter of Carlos Pizarro Leongómez, who was murdered during his 1990 presidential run.
