2 days ago
Colombian senator Miguel Uribe shot in Bogota
Colombian politician Miguel Uribe Turbay.
Photo:
AFP/SEBASTIAN BARROS
The 39-year-old senator, who is running for the presidency in 2026, is a member of the opposition conservative Democratic Centre 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 neighbourhood in the capital on Saturday (local time) when "armed subjects shot him in the back."
The party described the attack as serious, but did not disclose further details on Uribe's condition.
Colombia's Defence 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.
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.
Uribe is from a prominent family in Colombia, with links to the country's Liberal Party.
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.
Colombia has for decades been embroiled in a conflict between leftist rebels, criminal groups descended from right-wing paramilitaries, and the government.
Leftist President Gustavo Petro sympathised 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."
- Reuters
