Colombian senator Miguel Uribe dies after June campaign shooting
Miguel Uribe, a potential presidential candidate from the rightwing opposition, was shot in Bogotá on 7 June during a rally and had multiple surgeries before his death.
His wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, wrote on social media: 'I ask God to show me the way to learn to live without you. Rest in peace, love of my life, I will take care of our children.'
Uribe's death aged 39 adds further tragedy to his family's fraught history. His mother, the journalist Diana Turbay, was killed in 1991 during a botched rescue mission after she was kidnapped by the Medellín cartel, headed by the drug lord Pablo Escobar.
Uribe enjoyed a rapid political rise, becoming a recognised lawmaker for the rightwing Democratic Centre party and presidential hopeful known for his sharp criticism of the administration of the leftwing president, Gustavo Petro.
At 25, he was elected to Bogotá's city council, where he was a prominent opponent of Petro, then the capital's mayor, criticising his handling of waste management and social programmes.
In the 2022 legislative elections, Uribe led the senate slate for Democratic Centre with the slogan 'Colombia first', winning a seat in the chamber.
His family is prominent in Colombian politics. His maternal grandfather, Julio César Turbay, was Colombia's president from 1978 to 1982, while his paternal grandfather, Rodrigo Uribe Echavarria, headed the Liberal party and supported Virgilio Barco's successful 1986 presidential campaign.
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