Colombian president vows to hunt ‘mastermind' behind shooting of political rival, after 15-year-old arrested
Colombian senator Miguel Uribe, in the running to join next year's presidential race, is in a critical condition in hospital after being shot at an event in Bogota, allegedly by a 15-year old boy.
The 39-year-old, from the center-right Centro Democrático – or Democratic Center – the biggest opposition party in the South American nation, had expressed his intention to run in next year's election.
He was shot twice on Saturday afternoon in the capital's Fontibon district, according to the General Prosecutor's Office. Police said the 15-year-old was carrying a Glock pistol when he was arrested.
Video footage showed the senator giving a speech to a crowd before multiple loud bangs rang out. He was seen lying on the ground as people around him fled. Police and civilians later rushed him to an ambulance.
Uribe has entered 'the critical hours' of recovery after undergoing an initial surgical procedure, Bogota Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán said Sunday.
'He came out well from the surgery,' his wife told reporters in an audio recording after the operation, according to AFP. 'He fought the first battle and fought it well. He is fighting for his life.'
Uribe's party said he was shot in the back while he was participating in a campaign event.
In a broadcast statement Saturday evening, Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the attack and vowed to hunt down those responsible, suggesting other criminals may have been involved.
'No resource should be spared, not a single peso or a single moment of energy, to find the mastermind … Wherever they live, whether in Colombia or abroad,' said Petro.
The president pointed to a pattern of Colombian criminals taking advantage of minors and promised an independent investigation to determine the 'intellectual authors' of the attack - speculating there may be a link to 'crime bosses' responsible for several political assassinations in the country.
He expressed his hope that the opposition senator would survive and said politics should be 'free of violence.'
Uribe's wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, posted a message on his X account asking for prayers for his recovery.
'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.
Santa Fe de Bogota Foundation, the hospital where he is being treated, said he was undergoing 'neurosurgical and peripheral vascular procedures.'
'Uribe's condition is stable, still in critical condition,' Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo told local TV network Caracol TV.
A political family
Uribe comes from a prominent Colombian political family. He is the grandson of Julio César Turbay Ayala, who governed the country from 1978 to 1982, and died in 2005.
The young politician's mother was Diana Turbay, a journalist kidnapped by drug traffickers from the Medellín cartel under Pablo Escobar, and murdered during a rescue operation in 1991. His grandmother, Nydia Quintero de Balcázar, is the founder of the organization Solidarity for Colombia.
The Harvard graduate entered the Senate in 2022, after a career in local Bogota politics.
He is identified with the right wing of Colombian politics, as the standard-bearer of the Democratic Center, championing security and foreign investment.
In October 2024, he announced his presidential bid from the location where his mother was killed, saying that her death shaped his life. 'I could have grown up seeking revenge, but I decided to do the right thing: forgive, but never forget,' he said.
With the presidential campaign still in its early stages, the Democratic Center has not yet chosen its official candidate.
International condemnation
The attack drew condemnation from the Colombian government and the Democratic Center, as well as former presidents and world leaders.
Before Petro's address, the president's office released a statement 'categorically and forcefully' condemning the attack.
'This act of violence is an attack not only against the senator's personal integrity, but also against democracy, freedom of thought, and the legitimate exercise of politics in Colombia,' the Presidency said.
Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez Suárez also announced a 3 billion pesos (US$730,000) reward for information that helps authorities track down those responsible for the attack.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington condemned the attack 'in the strongest possible terms,' calling it 'a direct threat to democracy.' He attributed it to 'the violent leftist rhetoric coming from the highest levels of the Colombian government' and urged the Colombian officials to dial back 'the inflammatory rhetoric.'
President Petro later said he rejected 'opportunistic' attempts to use the attack for 'political purposes.'
Uribe's 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,' it said in a statement.
At least four former presidents – Ernesto Samper, Álvaro Uribe Vélez, Juan Manuel Santos and Iván Duque – issued condemnations. Centro Democratico is the party of both Uribe and Duque.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa sent his prayers to Uribe's family, adding that 'we condemn all forms of violence and intolerance.'
In the late 1980s and early '90s, when Uribe's mother was assassinated, Colombia experienced one of its worst periods of political violence, with the murders of several presidential candidates.
Uribe is a prominent member of a new generation of politicians descended from victims of that violence, along with current Bogota Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán, son of former Liberal leader Luis Carlos Galán, who was assassinated in 1989.
One of Uribe's greatest rivals in the Senate, María José Pizarro, is the daughter of Carlos Pizarro Leongómez, assassinated in 1990 while running for president of the leftist M-19.
CNN's Billy Stockwell and Sofia Barruti contributed to this report.
Mauricio Torres, Fernando Ramos, Chris Lau and Sebastian Jimenez, CNN
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
3 days ago
- CTV News
Is Canada's parents and grandparents sponsorship program working? Here's what families and an expert think
Maria Torres has been waiting 10 years to sponsor her elderly mother to live in Canada. Maria Torres has been waiting 10 years for a chance to sponsor her widowed mother from Colombia as a permanent resident so she can finally live in Canada with her family. Over the next few weeks starting Monday, thousands of people in Canada are set to receive invitations for applications to sponsor their parents and grandparents under the federal government's reunification program. Torres, a pharmacy assistant who lives with her husband and eight-year-old daughter in Ottawa, is anxiously waiting to find out if she is among those who will be randomly chosen to apply. Torres said she filled out an interest-to-sponsor form – the first step before anyone can be invited to apply – for the 2020 intake. The government is only sending emailed invitations to potential sponsors from that pool, with the goal of accepting 10,000 complete applications from 17,860 invitations. 'It's like when you buy the lottery, you just hope that you win it, but if you don't, well, buy it again and wait,' Torres said in a video interview with 'You're heartbroken and you have to live with this sadness and disappointment.' Torres said her 71-year-old mother visits for limited periods through a tourist visa. 'She's here, she's happy, she's with her granddaughter, with her daughter, and then she has to go back to Colombia alone because she doesn't have any more children,' Torres said. 'And for us it's really hard, and not just because she's leaving, but we don't know if we are going to be able to see her again.' Torres was among those who expressed their concerns with the program in response to a callout to readers. Some said it could be too late for reunification if families continue to wait years just to get a chance to be part of the pool. Many said the process has been frustrating and disheartening. Backlog While Torres may be lucky just to be a potential sponsor, some believe the process needs to improve. 'I think people want at a minimum the opportunity to be chosen, and there's been no opportunity for anybody who wasn't able to put their name in the pool in 2020, and so that's hugely unfair,' Tamara Mosher-Kuczer, founder of Lighthouse Immigration Law in Ottawa and a member of the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association, said in a video interview with Harpreet Singh, a digital marketing consultant from Langley, B.C., who came to Canada from the U.K. in 2018, can relate to these frustrations as he hopes to sponsor his 59-year-old mother. Singh, who is now a Canadian citizen, hopes to launch a petition, with the support of an MP, that would call on the federal government to open the interest-to-sponsor form to those outside the 2020 pool. 'The idea behind it is good,' Singh said about the program in a video interview with 'It's just that it needs to be overhauled, so everybody gets a fair and equal chance.' While critics say the process is taking an emotional toll on families, the federal government says it is dealing with the backlog from the 2020 submissions. 'Given the number of submissions remaining in the 2020 pool, IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) will continue to draw from that pool, giving those potential sponsors, who have been waiting for years, the opportunity to apply,' spokesperson Mary Rose Sabater wrote in an email to IRCC couldn't immediately say how many submissions remain from that year. Asked when the government would open submissions to people outside of the 2020 pool, Sabater said the federal government 'cannot comment on policy decisions on future intakes,' noting that it would communicate any news publicly. The federal government recommends that, for now, people consider the super visa program , which allows parents or grandparents to visit Canada for five years at a time, with the option to extend their visit for up to two years without leaving the country. When asked about concerns that the process is unfair, Remi Lariviere, another IRCC spokesperson, wrote in a separate email to that 'the government is committed to reuniting as many families as possible.' While the demand 'significantly exceeds' admissions targets, Lariviere said, the government's top priorities include both attracting top talent and ensuring sustainable levels of immigration. Who qualifies as a sponsor? Sponsors must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or person registered in the country as an Indian, according to the federal government. They must be at least 18 years old and living in Canada at the time they apply to sponsor their biological or adopted parents or grandparents. Additionally, sponsors must provide proof they have enough income to support the individuals they are sponsoring, as well as themselves and their own families, and ensure the people they're sponsoring won't need social assistance. 'Part of our family is missing' Rohan Chandna, who arrived in Saskatoon from India in 2018 as a permanent resident, said he and his wife have 'well-established jobs' and can easily support his parents in Canada. But he said he didn't apply in the 2020 pool because he didn't meet the income requirement then. At the time, he was new to the country. Instead, he said his parents, both in their 70s, will come to Canada this September on a super visa. 'It's unfortunate because we are in a very good position to manage to support them here, whether it's medically, house-wise, financially, whatever they need, ' Chandna, an IT project manager who has two daughters aged 10 and four, said in a video interview with 'Since we have come here, we are feeling that part of our family is missing.' Chandna wept as he described how difficult it was not to have his parents around while his eldest daughter spent about three years undergoing treatment for leukemia. 'We had no support at the time, like it was just me and my wife juggling work,' he said. 'Desperately waiting' Soodeh Farokhi, the CEO of an AI startup, said she planned to apply to sponsor her parents, both from Iran, after 2020 but wasn't aware that the government wouldn't accept interest-to-sponsor submissions outside of that pool. She has been 'desperately waiting' ever since. 'I know that even if we are in the pool, it might take many years to bring our parents, but still the hope and that fairness means a lot to me,' Farokhi, who became a Canadian citizen in 2022, said in a video interview with Farokhi's parents spent some time in Canada years ago on visitor visas to help care for her two children when they were born. Now with all the instability in Iran, Farokhi said it's unlikely she'll be able to visit her parents in the country. 'The emotional toll on my parents not seeing their grandchildren is very high,' said Farokhi. 'My mom is actually suffering from depression being far from her grandchildren.' Farokhi said she is not asking for special treatment and just wants the chance for more families to be considered as part of the pool. 'I'm a working mom and entrepreneur,' she said. 'I have a very busy life both professionally and personally and having my parents beside me means a lot.'
CTV News
3 days ago
- CTV News
Brazil in talks with TPG, Brookfield over US$4 billion climate finance push: Reuters exclusive
Brazil is in talks with global investors including TPG and Brookfield to raise nearly US$4 billion for climate-focused projects, as it ramps up a green finance push ahead of hosting the COP30 climate summit in November. Led by state development bank BNDES, the move is the latest attempt by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government to encourage private-sector investment in the climate agenda of Latin America's largest economy amid rising fiscal pressure. 'Together with BNDES we are talking to some of the biggest asset managers like Brookfield and TPG and others that could be partners in the funds,' Tatiana Rosito, Brazil's Secretary for International Affairs at the finance ministry, told Reuters. Under the plan, due to be formally launched in August with a public call for investment, BNDES will provide 5 billion reais ($906.3 million) in seed capital, said two sources with knowledge of the matter, both of whom requested anonymity given the confidential nature of the discussions. BNDES has been holding early-stage talks with dozens of domestic and international firms to gauge appetite for the effort, the sources said. Selected managers will be expected to raise three times the amount committed by the bank, bringing total funding to 20 billion reais ($3.63 billion), they added. BNDES did not respond to a request for comment. Brookfield and TPG are among the biggest investors in companies and projects focused on helping the world shift to a low-carbon economy, and both are working closely with Alterra, the world's largest private climate-focused investment fund. Alterra was launched during the COP28 climate talks in Dubai in 2023 with an initial commitment of $30 billion from the United Arab Emirates government. Brookfield and TPG are both running funds seeded by Alterra that can invest in countries like Brazil. Other firms approached by BNDES include BlackRock, the world's biggest asset manager, with more than $12 trillion in assets, impact investor Just Climate, growth private equity investor Lightrock and local firms including Patria, Vinci and Perfin. All declined to comment. The push for private investment comes as some richer countries cut development finance, including the administration of climate-skeptic U.S. President Donald Trump. Brazil has already issued sovereign bonds that tie the use of proceeds to its sustainability agenda, while the Eco Invest Brazil Program aims to reduce the risk of projects, for example around currency volatility, to make it easier for private sector investors to join in. The government last year also launched its Climate and Ecological Transformation Investment Platform to connect investors with projects in sectors including forest conservation, greening heavy industry and energy storage. Monies raised in the upcoming capital call would not be limited to emerging industries, though, and could also support more mature sectors such as wind and solar power, one of the sources said. The bank expects to receive proposals from asset managers by the end of October. Final selection is likely in the first quarter of 2026, with capital ready for deployment by mid-year, the source added. By Simon Jessop, Marcela Ayres and Virginia Furness Editing by Kirsten Donovan
Globe and Mail
24-07-2025
- Globe and Mail
Man accused of Trump assassination attempt returns to court, hopes to represent himself
A man charged with attempting to assassinate U.S. President Donald Trump last year at his Florida golf course will return to court Thursday to once again explain why he wants to fire his court-appointed lawyers and represent himself. Ryan Routh previously made the request earlier this month during a hearing in Fort Pierce before U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon. She did not rule during the hearing but said she would issue a written order later. But now Routh, 59, is set to be back in front of Cannon, a day after his court-appointed federal public defenders asked to be taken off the case. Routh is scheduled to stand trial in September, a year after prosecutors say a U.S. Secret Service agent thwarted his attempt to shoot Trump as he played golf. Routh has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and several firearm violations. The judge told Routh earlier this month that she doesn't intend to delay the Sept. 8 start date of his trial, even if she lets him represent himself. Routh, who has described the extent of his education as two years of college after earning his GED certificate, told Cannon that he understood and would be ready. In a June 29 letter to Cannon, Routh said that he and his attorneys were 'a million miles apart' and that they were refusing to answer his questions. He also suggested in the same letter that he could be used in a prisoner exchange with Iran, China, North Korea or Russia. 'I could die being of some use and save all this court mess, but no one acts; perhaps you have the power to trade me away,' Routh wrote. On Wednesday, the federal public defender's office filed a motion for termination of appointment of counsel, claiming that 'the attorney-client relationship is irreconcilably broken.' Attorneys said Routh refused to meet with them for a scheduled in-person meeting Tuesday morning at the federal detention centre in Miami. They said Routh has refused six attempts to meet with their team. 'It is clear that Mr. Routh wishes to represent himself, and he is within his Constitutional rights to make such a demand,' the motion said. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that criminal defendants have a right to represent themselves in court proceedings, as long as they can show a judge they are competent to waive their right to be defended by an attorney. Suspect in apparent Trump assassination attempt has long history of trouble with the law Prosecutors have said Routh methodically plotted to kill Trump for weeks before aiming a rifle through the shrubbery as Trump played golf on Sept. 15 at his West Palm Beach country club. A Secret Service agent spotted Routh before Trump came into view. Routh allegedly aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and flee without firing a shot. Law enforcement obtained help from a witness who prosecutors said informed officers that he saw a person fleeing. The witness was then flown in a police helicopter to a nearby interstate where Routh was arrested, and the witnesses confirmed it was the person he had seen, prosecutors have said. Routh has another, unrelated hearing in Cannon's courtroom scheduled for Friday on the admissibility of certain evidence and testimony that can be used for the trial. In addition to the federal charges, Routh also has pleaded not guilty to state charges of terrorism and attempted murder.
