Colombian President vows to find mastermind after Senator Miguel Uribe shot by teen at campaign event
Colombian senator and presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe is in critical condition after being shot at a campaign event in Bogota, allegedly by a 15-year-old boy, according to CNN.
The 39-year-old opposition leader from the center-right Centro Democratico party was addressing a crowd in the capital's Fontibon district on Saturday afternoon when gunshots rang out. He was shot twice and rushed to hospital. Police said the suspect, a minor, was found carrying a Glock pistol when arrested, CNN reported.
Video footage showed Uribe collapsing mid-speech as the crowd dispersed in panic. His party confirmed he was shot in the back during the event.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the attack and vowed to pursue those responsible, suggesting the involvement of organised criminals. "No resource should be spared, not a single peso or a single moment of energy, to find the mastermind ... whether in Colombia or abroad," Petro said.
The president linked the attack to a broader pattern of minors being used by crime syndicates. He called for an independent probe to determine the "intellectual authors" behind the shooting and emphasised that politics must remain "free of violence."
Uribe's wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, shared a message on his social media account: "Miguel is fighting for his life right now. Let us ask God to guide the hands of the doctors who are treating him."
Santa Fe de Bogota Foundation hospital stated that the senator underwent neurosurgical and vascular procedures. Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo later confirmed that Uribe's condition remained stable but critical.
Uribe belongs to a prominent political family. His grandfather, Julio Cesar Turbay Ayala, served as Colombia's president from 1978 to 1982. His mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was kidnapped and killed by Pablo Escobar's Medellin cartel in 1991. Uribe, a Harvard graduate, entered the Senate in 2022 after serving in Bogota's local government.
In October 2024, he launched his presidential bid from the location where his mother was murdered, stating, "I could have grown up seeking revenge, but I decided to do the right thing: forgive, but never forget," CNN noted.
The shooting has drawn widespread condemnation from both national and international leaders. The Democratic Center party called it "an unacceptable act of violence" that threatens democracy. President Petro's office called the attack a blow to "freedom of thought and legitimate political participation."
Colombia's Defence Ministry has offered a reward of 3 billion pesos (USD 730,000) for information on those responsible.
Four former Colombian presidents — Ernesto Samper, Alvaro Uribe Velez, Juan Manuel Santos, and Ivan Duque — also condemned the attack. Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa expressed solidarity with Uribe's family and denounced political violence.
Uribe is part of a generation of Colombian leaders shaped by political assassinations in the late 1980s and 1990s. His Senate rival Maria Jose Pizarro is the daughter of former presidential candidate Carlos Pizarro Leongomez, who was killed in 1990.
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