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Colombian senator Miguel Uribe fighting for life after shooting
Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe, a potential presidential contender, was fighting for his life in hospital after being shot during a campaign event in Bogota on Saturday, according to his wife and government and party authorities.
The Colombian Attorney General's Office said in a statement that "a minor under 15 years of age was arrested carrying a Glock pistol-type firearm (9mm)", and President Gustavo Petro ordered an investigation into who had ordered the attack.
The 39-year-old senator, a member of the opposition conservative Democratic Center party, was shot during a 2026 presidential campaign event in a public park in the Fontibon neighborhood in the capital on Saturday, according to a party statement condemning the attack.
The party said in a statement that "armed subjects shot him from behind" and described the attack as serious, but did not disclose further details on Uribe's condition. Videos on social media showed a man, identified as Uribe, being tended to after the shooting. He appeared to be bleeding from his head.
Uribe's wife Maria Claudia Tarazona wrote on her husband's account on X that he was "fighting for his life".
People gathered outside the Santa Fe Foundation hospital where Uribe was being treated, some staged candlelight vigils and prayed, while others carried Colombian flags.
Spain's government and that of neighboring Venezuela issued statements on Sunday criticising the attack.
"The Government of Spain strongly condemns the assassination attempt against Colombian senator and presidential pre-candidate Miguel Uribe, to whom it extends its solidarity and wishes for a speedy recovery," the Spanish Foreign Ministry posted on social media site X.
Colombia's Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said a suspect had been arrested after the shooting and that authorities were investigating whether others were involved. Sanchez said he had visited the hospital where Uribe was being treated.
THOROUGH INVESTIGATION
The government is offering some $730,000 as a reward for information in the case.
Colombia's presidency issued a statement saying the government "categorically and forcefully" rejected the violent attack, and called for a thorough investigation into the events.
Leftist President Gustavo Petro sympathized with the senator's family in a message on X, saying: "I don't know how to ease your pain. It is the pain of a mother lost, and of a homeland."
Petro later said in a speech on Saturday night that the person arrested was a minor and that the investigation would focus on finding who had ordered the attack.
"For now there is nothing more than hypothesis," Petro said, adding that failures in security protocols would also be looked into.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that the U.S. "condemns in the strongest possible terms the attempted assassination" of Uribe, blaming Petro's "inflammatory rhetoric" for the violence.
Uribe, who is not yet an official presidential candidate for his party, is from a prominent family in Colombia. His father was a businessman and union leader. His mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was kidnapped in 1990 by an armed group under the command of the late cartel leader Pablo Escobar. She was killed during a rescue operation in 1991.
Colombia has for decades been embroiled in a conflict between leftist rebels, criminal groups descended from right-wing paramilitaries, and the government.
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3 hours ago
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Miguel Uribe in critical condition; gun used to attack Colombian presidential candidate traced to US purchase
Colombia's left-wing president, Gustavo Petro, claimed on Monday that the security assigned to a presidential candidate, now critically wounded, had been 'oddly scaled back' ahead of the shooting, raising concerns of a possible conspiracy. Conservative senator and presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe, 39, was shot twice in the head at close range by a 15-year-old suspected assassin while campaigning in Bogotá on Saturday. The attack has rocked the country, triggering widespread speculation about those responsible. Authorities suspect the teenager was a contract killer but acknowledge that the identity and motive of whoever ordered the hit remain unclear, AFP reported. According to police chief Carlos Triana, the Glock pistol that he is alleged to have used was purchased legally in the US state of Arizona in 2020. With Uribe fighting for his life in the hospital, Petro did little Monday to lower the political temperature. The president took to social media to accuse some opponents of politicising the tragedy. He also claimed that the number of bodyguards assigned to Uribe had been 'strangely reduced' from seven to three on the day of the attack, while calling for a full investigation. Petro said he was the subject of a bounty taken up by "dark forces" and neo-nazis, and was the target of an "extraction" plot pitched to Israeli foreign intelligence agency Mossad. Augusto Rodríguez, the head of Colombia's National Protection Unit (UNP), which is charged with protecting public figures, said three agents and four police officers protected Uribe on the day he was shot. Augusto Rodriguez admitted 'there were fewer people than there should have been' at the time of the attack because some had been working long hours the previous day. Colombian lawmakers are typically assigned seven bodyguards and a motorcade consisting of two armoured vehicles, AFP reported, citing government officials. Rodriguez—a trusted ally of President Petro and a former M-19 guerrilla—asserted that a police officer was in charge of coordinating security for the candidates. Over 20 formal requests to enhance Uribe's security had been ignored. At the same time, Miguel Uribe's lawyer filed a criminal complaint against Rodriguez, alleging that over 20 formal requests to enhance Uribe's security had been ignored.
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Business Standard
5 hours ago
- Business Standard
Colombian prez candidate Uribe remains critical following assassination bid
Miguel Uribe, a conservative Colombian presidential hopeful, was in critical condition on Monday after being shot in the head from close range during a rally over the weekend. In a statement, doctors said the 39-year-old senator had "barely" responded to medical interventions that included brain surgery following the assassination attempt that has had a chilling effect on the South American nation. Uribe was shot on Saturday as he addressed a small crowd of people who had gathered in a park in Bogota's Modelia neighbourhood. On Sunday hundreds of people gathered outside the hospital where Uribe is being treated to pray for his recovery. Some carried rosaries in their hands, while others chanted slogans against President Gustavo Petro. "This is terrible," said Walter Jimenez, a lawyer who showed up outside the hospital with a sign calling for Petro's removal. "It feels like we are going back to the 1990s," he said, referring to a decade during which drug cartels and rebel groups murdered judges, presidential candidates and journalists with impunity. Petro has condemned the attack and urged his opponents to not use it for political ends. But some Colombians have also asked the president to tone down his rhetoric against opposition leaders. The assassination attempt stunned the nation, with many politicians describing it as the latest sign of how security has deteriorated in Colombia, where the government is struggling to control violence in rural and urban areas, despite a 2016 peace deal with the nation's largest rebel group. The attack on Uribe comes amid growing animosity between Petro and the Senate over blocked reforms to the nation's labour laws. Petro has organised protests in favour of the reforms, where he has delivered fiery speeches referring to opposition leaders as "oligarchs" and "enemies of the people." "There is no way to argue that the president who describes his opponents as enemies of the people, paramilitaries and assassins has no responsibility in this," Andres Mejia, a prominent political analyst, wrote on X. On Monday, Colombia's Senate said it will suspend sessions for an undetermined number of days to show its solidarity with Uribe. The Senate was expected to vote this week on labour legislation that Colombia's president wants to enact through a referendum. Also on Monday, in a joint statement nine opposition parties said they will turn to "international entities" that can provide them with "conditions of equality that have been denied" to them by Colombia's government. The parties also called on the Inspector General's office to create a commission that will guarantee transparency and security in elections. The Attorney General's office said a 15-year-old boy was arrested at the scene of the attack against Uribe. Videos captured on social media show a suspect shooting at Uribe from close range. The suspect was injured in the leg and was recovering at another clinic, authorities said. Defence Minister Pedro Snchez added that over 100 officers are investigating the attack. On Monday, Colombia's Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo said that minors in Colombia face sentences of up to eight years in detention for committing murders. Camargo acknowledged that lenient sentences have encouraged armed groups to recruit minors to commit crimes. However, she said that Colombian law also considers that minors who are recruited by armed groups are victims, and is trying to protect them. "As a society we need to reflect on why a minor is getting caught up in a network of assassins, and what we can do to stop this from happening in the future," she said. Camargo said officials had not identified any death threats against Uribe prior to Saturday's assassination attempt. But on Monday, Uribe's lawyer said he has sued the director of the National Protection Unit, a government agency that assigns security guards and bullet proof vehicles to politicians and human rights leaders. Uribe launched his presidential campaign in October. His lawyer, Victor Mosquera, said the National Protection Unit ignored multiple requests by Uribe to have his security detail expanded as he campaigned. "His security detail had to be improved," Mosquera said in a press conference. "We have to investigate whether the attack (on Uribe) was a consequence of negligence." In a message on X on Monday, Petro wrote that Uribe's security detail was "strangely" reduced from seven to three bodyguards on the day of the assassination attempt, and said he asked police to investigate. Petro said there are still many theories about the motive for the attack.


Mint
5 hours ago
- Mint
Miguel Uribe in critical condition; gun used for attacking Colombian presidential candidate traced to US purchase
Colombia's left-wing president claimed on Monday that the security assigned to a presidential candidate, now critically wounded, had been 'oddly scaled back' ahead of the shooting—raising concerns of a possible conspiracy. Conservative senator and presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe, 39, was shot twice in the head at close range by a 15-year-old suspected assassin while campaigning in Bogotá on Saturday. The attack has rocked the country, triggering widespread speculation about those responsible. Authorities suspect the teenager was a contract killer but acknowledge that the identity and motive of whoever ordered the hit remain unclear, AFP reported. According to police chief Carlos Triana, the Glock pistol he is alleged to have used was purchased legally in the US state of Arizona in 2020. With Uribe fighting for his life in the hospital, Petro did little Monday to lower the political temperature. The president took to social media to accuse some opponents of politicising the tragedy. He also claimed that the number of bodyguards assigned to Uribe had been 'strangely reduced' from seven to three on the day of the attack while calling for a full investigation. Petro said he was the subject of a bounty taken up by "dark forces" and neo-nazis, and was the target of an "extraction" plot pitched to Israeli foreign intelligence agency Mossad. The head of Colombia's National Protection Unit, which is charged with protecting public figures, said three agents and four police officers protected Uribe on the day he was shot. Augusto Rodriguez admitted 'there were fewer people than there should have been' at the time of the attack because some had been working long hours the previous day. Colombian lawmakers are typically assigned seven bodyguards and a motorcade consisting of two armoured vehicles, AFP reported citing government officials. Rodriguez—a trusted ally of President Petro and a former M-19 guerrilla—asserted that a police officer was in charge of coordinating security for the candidates. Over 20 formal requests to enhance Uribe's security had been ignored. At the same time, Miguel Uribe's lawyer filed a criminal complaint against Rodriguez, alleging that over 20 formal requests to enhance Uribe's security had been ignored. The number of bodyguards assigned to Uribe had been 'strangely reduced' from seven to three on the day of the attack. Key Takeaways The attack on Miguel Uribe raises serious concerns about political safety and security measures in Colombia. Investigations are necessary to determine the motives and individuals behind the assassination attempt. The link between gun purchases in the US and violence in Colombia highlights ongoing issues related to gun control and international arms trafficking.