Videos of Assassination Attempt in Colombia Stoke National Tension

New York Times

5 hours ago

It was all captured on video.
An assassination attempt against a Colombian senator and presidential hopeful on Saturday night has horrified much of the nation, and not just because it represents the highest-profile political violence in the country in years.
The attempt against Miguel Uribe Turbay, 39, a conservative politician and the grandson of a former president, took place at a campaign event in the capital, Bogotá, while a small army of cellphone cameras rolled. Videos that spread rapidly online and were verified by The New York Times show the suspect listening to Mr. Uribe deliver a campaign speech, then shooting him from behind, running away, and finally being pinned to the ground as Mr. Uribe bleeds profusely nearby, held up by his crying colleagues.
A white car smeared with his blood, pictured in numerous videos and photos, has quickly become a symbol of the attack. And the videos, taken together, have come to reflect some Colombians' fears that the nation is headed back to the violence that shaped it from the 1980s to the early 2000s, when attacks linked to drug traffickers and left-wing guerrillas were regular occurrences in major cities.
'We lived through a terrifying time,' said Sonia Ballen, 61, who on Sunday marched many blocks with other supporters of Mr. Uribe to the hospital where he was being treated. 'And here we are starting to see it again.'
On Sunday morning, the medical director at the hospital, the Santa Fe Foundation in Bogotá, said that Mr. Uribe's condition was 'extremely serious.' The director, Dr. Adolfo Llinás Volpe, said the hospital would not release information about the senator's prognosis.
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