Miguel Uribe Turbay dies after rally shooting. His mother was kidnapped by Pablo Escobar and shot dead too
Colombian senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, a presidential hopeful, has died two months after being shot at a campaign rally in Bogotá. The 39-year-old was struck by three bullets, prompting a nationwide shock. A teenager is in custody, but the motive remains unclear. His mother also died during a police rescue after being kidnapped and was shot dead.
Reuters A person holds a campaign poster at the area where Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay of the opposition Democratic Center party, was shot during a campaign event Colombian senator Miguel Uribe Turbay who had been hoping to become the country's next president has died in hospital two months after being shot at a campaign rally. He was shot in the head in a targeted attack which shocked the South American nation.Miguel Uribe Turbay, 39, was hit by three bullets two of them in the head and one in the leg - at a campaign rally on 7 June in the capital, Bogotá. A teenager has been arrested on suspicion of carrying out the shooting, but the motive behind the attack is still unclear. He was attending a political event in a middle-class neighbourhood of the capital when he was shot.
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His wife confirmed his death on social media, paying tribute to "the love of my life". Uribe's wife, María Claudia Tarazona, thanked her late husband for "a life full of love" and for being "the best father" for their children."Rest in peace, love of my life. I will take care of our children,' his wife, María Claudia Tarazona, wrote in a social media post confirming his death. 'I ask God to show me the way to learn to live without you"Miguel Uribe was shot three times, twice in the head, while giving a campaign speech in a park and had remained in an intensive care unit in serious condition with episodes of slight improvement. Last month Colombian officials named the attack's mastermind as Elder José Arteaga Hernández, known as who 'Chipi' or 'Costeño.'
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Miguel Uribe had announced his intention to run for president in 2026 and had become one of leftist president Gustavo Petro's strongest critics in congress. Uribe, a lawyer with a masters degree in public administration from Harvard University, entered politics as a councilman for Bogota when he was 26. In 2022, he was the biggest vote-getter in the conservative Democratic Center party led by former President Alvaro Uribe. According to a statement published on Saturday by the hospital where Uribe was being treated, the senator had suffered a bleed to his central nervous system and was due to undergo surgery. He had already had several surgeries since he was first taken to the Santa Fe clinic in June.His wife had asked people to pray for his recovery and thousands had turned out at vigils and rallies to show their support.
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The brazen attack on the senator has brought back memories of the turbulent decades of the 1980s and 90s in Colombia, when several presidential candidates and influential Colombian figures were assassinated. Uribe's own mother, well-known journalist Diana Turbay, was among the victims of that period when she died during a police rescue after being kidnapped by a group of drug traffickers led by Escobar seeking to block their extradition to the United States. She was held hostage by them for five months before being shot dead during a botched rescue attempt. Diana Turbey founded and directed the news magazine Hoy x Hoy and was known for her sharp questions, deep empathy, and refusal to sensationalise violence, a rarity in Colombia's media at the time. On January 25, 1991, Diana, just 40, died from a gunshot wound during a botched rescue mission. She had been held hostage for nearly five months by operatives of the Medellin Cartel, Colombia's most feared criminal empire, run by Escobar. But her story, and the events leading to her death, began long before that tragic day.
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