Colombian senator and would-be presidential candidate is shot and wounded at Bogota campaign rally
Images circulating on social media showed Uribe Turbay, 39, covered in blood, apparently with a head wound, being held by several people. So far, no official report has been released on the senator's condition.
A suspected shooter has been captured, Bogotá Mayor Carlos Galán said on the social platform X. But the federal government said it was offering a reward for the capture of those responsible.
'Respect life, that's the red line,' Colombian President Gustavo Petro said in a message posted on his X account. Shortly after making the post, Petro canceled a planned trip to France 'due to the seriousness of the events,' according to a presidential statement.
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Uribe Turbay is a senator and the son of a journalist who was kidnapped and killed in 1991 during one of the country's most violent periods.
Colombia will hold a presidential election on May 31, 2026, marking the end of the current term of Petro, Colombia's first leftist president. Uribe Turbay announced his presidential bid in March.
Colombian police chief Gen. Carlos Triana said that at the time of the attack Uribe Turbay was accompanied by Councilman Andrés Barrios and 20 other people. A minor who allegedly participated in the attack was apprehended at the scene and is being treated for a leg injury, he said. A firearm was also seized.
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'I have ordered the Colombian military and police forces and intelligence agencies to deploy all their capabilities to urgently clarify the facts,' said Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez.
Miguel Uribe Turbay, center in blue tie, celebrates after voting against a labor reform referendum proposed by the government, in Bogota on May 14.
Fernando Vergara/Associated Press
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio
'This is a direct threat to democracy and the result of the violent leftist rhetoric coming from the highest levels of the Colombian government,' Rubio said.
Reactions poured in from around Latin America, with Chilean President Gabriel Boric saying 'there is no room or justification for violence in a democracy,' and Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa saying 'we condemn all forms of violence and intolerance.'
In Colombia, former President Uribe said 'they attacked the hope of the country, a great husband, father, son, brother, a great colleague.'
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