Colombia's Potential Presidential Contender Miguel Uribe Shot, Suspect Arrested
Reuters
Police officers are seen at Santa Fe Foundation hospital, where Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay of the opposition Democratic Center party, is hospitalised after he was shot during a campaign event, in Bogota, Colombia, June 8, 2025.
BOGOTA, June 7 (Reuters) – Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe, a potential presidential contender, was shot in Bogota on Saturday, according to the government and his party, as his wife said he was fighting for his life in hospital.
The 39-year-old senator, who was shot during a campaign event as part of his run for the presidency in 2026, is a member of the opposition conservative Democratic Center party founded by former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. The two men are not related.
According to a party statement condemning the attack, the senator was hosting a campaign event in a public park in the Fontibon neighborhood in the capital on Saturday when 'armed subjects shot him from behind.
The party 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.'
Colombia's Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said a suspect had been arrested in the shooting and that authorities were investigating whether others were involved. Sanchez said he had visited the hospital where Uribe was being treated.
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 that took place.
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.
The United States' 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.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Mainichi
3 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Colombian senator and would-be presidential candidate is shot and wounded at Bogota rally
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Colombian Sen. Miguel Uribe Turbay, a possible candidate in the country's presidential election next year, was shot and wounded at a campaign rally in Bogota on Saturday, authorities said. His conservative Democratic Center party released a statement calling it "an unacceptable act of violence." 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 Alvaro Uribe. The men are not related. Images circulating on social media showed Uribe Turbay, 39, covered in blood being held by several people. A medical report from the Santa Fe Foundation hospital said the senator was admitted in critical condition and is undergoing a "neurosurgical and peripheral vascular procedure." "Miguel is fighting for his life," his wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, wrote on the senator's X account, urging Colombians to pray for him. The Attorney General's Office, which is investigating the shooting, said the senator received two gunshot wounds in the attack, which wounded two others. The statement from the office said a 15-year-old boy was arrested at the scene with a firearm. 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. 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. Colombian police chief Gen. Carlos Triana said that at the time of the attack Uribe Turbay was accompanied by Councilman Andres 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 Sanchez. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X that the "United State condemns in the strongest possible terms the attempted assassination of Senator Miguel Uribe." and he urged President Petro "to dial back the inflammatory rhetoric and protect Colombian officials." "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." 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."
Yomiuri Shimbun
4 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Taiwan Coast Guard, Military Drill to Better Face China's ‘Grey Zone' Threat
Reuters Taiwan's coast guard conducts its annual drill in southern Taiwan, simulating the seizure of a ferry by 'international terrorists', in collaboration with Taiwan's military to board and take back control of the boat and evacuate casualties, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, June 8, 2025. KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan, June 8 (Reuters) – Taiwan's coast guard held drills with the military on Sunday to better practice joint operations in the face of what the government in Taipei says is a growing 'grey zone' threat from China, which claims the island as its own territory. Democratically governed Taiwan has repeatedly complained about activities such as undersea cable cutting and sand dredging by China around the island, designed to pressure it without direct confrontation. It is often Taiwan's coast guard that scrambles first to respond. The drills in the southern port city of Kaohsiung, overseen by President Lai Ching-te, simulated the seizing of a ferry by 'international terrorists'. The coast guard worked with an interior ministry rescue helicopter and army medevac helicopter to board and take back control of the boat and evacuate casualties. A navy anti-submarine helicopter flew over the scene as the drill ended, along with the medevac and rescue helicopters, the first time they have flown together in such a scenario, the coast guard said. 'Taiwan has been facing constant grey intrusion from China, but our coast guard colleagues have always been on the front line to enforce the law and protect the lives and safety of the people of Taiwan,' Lai told the audience for the drills, which included the top U.S. diplomat in Kaohsiung, Neil Gibson. 'The government will continue to consolidate the strength of all departments and strengthen the resilience of the entire society to defend national security and safeguard Taiwan's democracy and freedom,' Lai said. Taiwan's coast guard, which would be pressed into military service in the event of war with China, is also routinely sent out to shadow Chinese ships during Beijing's war games around the island. The coast guard, like the navy, is in the midst of an expansion and modernisation programme. Its new Anping-class corvettes, which began being commissioned in 2020, are based on the navy's Tuo Chiang-class warships. They are state-of-the-art, highly manoeuvrable stealth vessels meant to take out larger warships while operating close to Taiwan's shores. The Anping-class ships, one of which took part in the drill, have space for launchers for the Taiwan-made Hsiung Feng anti-ship and sea-to-land missiles, as well as added equipment for rescue operations. Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying only the island's people can decide their future.
Yomiuri Shimbun
5 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Colombia's Potential Presidential Contender Miguel Uribe Shot, Suspect Arrested
Reuters Police officers are seen at Santa Fe Foundation hospital, where Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay of the opposition Democratic Center party, is hospitalised after he was shot during a campaign event, in Bogota, Colombia, June 8, 2025. BOGOTA, June 7 (Reuters) – Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe, a potential presidential contender, was shot in Bogota on Saturday, according to the government and his party, as his wife said he was fighting for his life in hospital. The 39-year-old senator, who was shot during a campaign event as part of his run for the presidency in 2026, is a member of the opposition conservative Democratic Center party founded by former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. The two men are not related. According to a party statement condemning the attack, the senator was hosting a campaign event in a public park in the Fontibon neighborhood in the capital on Saturday when 'armed subjects shot him from behind. The party 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.' Colombia's Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said a suspect had been arrested in the shooting and that authorities were investigating whether others were involved. Sanchez said he had visited the hospital where Uribe was being treated. 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 that took place. 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. The United States' 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.
