Soaring Gold Prices Draw Illicit Miners—and Armed Gangs—to Colombia's Jungles
PUERTO CLAVER, Colombia—The lure of even a few specks of gold compels Elizabeth Mosquera awake before dawn to slog to a muddy pit, where she wades into waist-deep water and starts to pan. 'What you earn in a month in a regular job, you can make here in an hour or two,' said Mosquera, 47 years old. In Colombia, the prospecting economy is driving revenue to drug-trafficking organizations that are already awash in proceeds from the record supplies of cocaine they are exporting to the U.S. and Europe, law-enforcement officials said.
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New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Videos of Assassination Attempt in Colombia Stoke National Tension
It was all captured on video. An assassination attempt against a Colombian senator and presidential hopeful on Saturday night has horrified much of the nation, and not just because it represents the highest-profile political violence in the country in years. The attempt against Miguel Uribe Turbay, 39, a conservative politician and the grandson of a former president, took place at a campaign event in the capital, Bogotá, while a small army of cellphone cameras rolled. Videos that spread rapidly online and were verified by The New York Times show the suspect listening to Mr. Uribe deliver a campaign speech, then shooting him from behind, running away, and finally being pinned to the ground as Mr. Uribe bleeds profusely nearby, held up by his crying colleagues. A white car smeared with his blood, pictured in numerous videos and photos, has quickly become a symbol of the attack. And the videos, taken together, have come to reflect some Colombians' fears that the nation is headed back to the violence that shaped it from the 1980s to the early 2000s, when attacks linked to drug traffickers and left-wing guerrillas were regular occurrences in major cities. 'We lived through a terrifying time,' said Sonia Ballen, 61, who on Sunday marched many blocks with other supporters of Mr. Uribe to the hospital where he was being treated. 'And here we are starting to see it again.' On Sunday morning, the medical director at the hospital, the Santa Fe Foundation in Bogotá, said that Mr. Uribe's condition was 'extremely serious.' The director, Dr. Adolfo Llinás Volpe, said the hospital would not release information about the senator's prognosis. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
Colombian presidential candidate recovering from surgery after assassination attempt
Colombian Sen. Miguel Uribe Turbay, a possible right-wing candidate in the country's presidential election next year, is recovering after successfully undergoing surgery following an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Bogota. The 39-year-old Uribe was speaking to supporters in the capital city when a gunman shot him twice in the head and once in the knee. He was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition and underwent a "neurosurgical" and "peripheral vascular procedure," the Santa Fe Clinic in Bogota told AFP. He "overcame the first surgical procedure," Bogota Mayor Carlos Fernando Galan told local media. Uribe's wife, in an audio recording shared with the media, said her husband "came out well from the surgery." "He fought the first battle and fought it well. He is fighting for his life," she is heard saying. FILE --- Miguel Uribe Turbay attends the strategic dialogue Rethinking Cities for Competitiveness: Smart and Sustainable Cities at the 2019 Concordia Americas Summit in Bogota, Colombia, on May 14, Concordia Summit The attack took place in a park in the Fontibon neighborhood when armed assailants shot him from behind, said the right-wing Democratic Center, which was the party of former President Álvaro Uribe. The men are not related. The Attorney General's Office, which is investigating the shooting, said a 15-year-old boy was arrested at the scene with a firearm. Two others – a man and a woman – were also wounded in the shooting. "Our hearts are broken, Colombia hurts," Carolina Gomez, a 41-year-old businesswoman, told AFP. After the shooting, Uribe's conservative Democratic Center party released a statement calling it "an unacceptable act of violence." Colombia's government said it was offering a reward for the capture of all those responsible. "Respect life, that's the red line," 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. Relatives and friends of Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay wait to receive news about the state of his health after being shot and wounded in Bogota early on June 8, 2025. RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP via Getty Images In a statement Saturday night, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. "condemns in the strongest possible terms the attempted assassination of Senator Miguel Uribe." Rubio called the shooting "a direct threat to democracy and the result of the violent leftist rhetoric coming from the highest levels of the Colombian government. Having seen firsthand Colombia's progress over the past few decades to consolidate security and democracy, it can't afford to go back to dark days of political violence. President Petro needs to dial back the inflammatory rhetoric and protect Colombian officials." Uribe Turbay is 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. The senator announced his presidential bid in March. People gather to pray outside the Fundacion Santa Fe clinic, where Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe is hospitalized after being shot in Bogota on June 8, 2025. ALEJANDRO MARTINEZ/AFP via Getty Images 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 was being treated for a leg injury, he said. "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. Reactions poured in from around Latin America, with Chilean President Gabriel Boric saying, "There is no room or justification for violence in a democracy." Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa said, "We condemn all forms of violence and intolerance." Both presidents offered solidarity to the senator's family. In Colombia, former President Uribe said, "They attacked the hope of the country, a great husband, father, son, brother, a great colleague." contributed to this report.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
A Colombian Presidential Hopeful Fights for His Life After Assassination Attempt
The shooting of Sen. Miguel Uribe sparks fears of a return to the blood-soaked political violence of the 1980s and '90s,
