BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia Sen. Miguel Uribe Turbey, who could be a candidate for next year’s presidential election, was shot and injured at a campaign rally held in Bogota on Saturday, authorities said.
His conservative Democratic Centre party issued a statement calling it “an unacceptable act of violence.”
The attack took place in a park in the Fontibon district when an armed assailant shot him from behind, the Right-wing Democracy Centre, former President Alvaro Uribe’s party, said. Men have nothing to do with it.
Images circulating on social media show that 39-year-old Uribe Turbay is covered by several people who are covered in blood. A medical report from Santa Fe Foundation Hospital said the senator was found to be in danger and undergoes “neurosurgical and peripheral vascular procedures.”
“Miguel is fighting for his life,” his wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, wrote in the Senator’s X account, urging the 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, and two others were injured. A statement from the office said the 15-year-old boy was arrested at the scene with a firearm.
The Colombian government said it is offering compensation for capturing all responsible persons.
“Look, that’s a red line,” President Gustavo Peter said in a message posted to his X account. Peter canceled plans for France “due to the seriousness of the events,” according to a statement from the president.
Late Saturday night, after leading an extraordinary security board session, Colombia’s first left-wing president promised “full transparency” in the investigation and found an intellectual writer for the attack. He also promised to investigate the failures of the Senate bodyguard.
Uribetter Bay is the son of a journalist who was invited and killed in 1991 during one of the most violent periods in the country. Colombia will hold a presidential election on May 31, 2026, marking the end of Peter’s term. The senator announced his presidential bid in March.
Columbia police chief General Carlos Triana said at the time of the attack Uribe Turbey was accompanied by Councillor Andre Barrios and 20 others. The minor allegedly involved in the attack was arrested at the scene and was being treated for a leg injury, he said.
“We have ordered the Colombian military, police and intelligence agency to deploy all our capabilities and make the facts urgently clear,” Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in X that “the United States will condemn the attempted assassination of Senator Miguel Uribe on the strongest possible conditions.” He then urged President Peter to “dialize inflammatory rhetoric and protect Colombian officials.”
“This is a direct threat to democracy and the result of violent left rhetoric that comes from the highest level of the Colombian government,” Rubio said.
Reactions have been poured in from around Latin America, with Chilean President Gabriel Borik saying “there is no room for violence or justification for democracy,” while Ecuadorian President Daniel Novore saying “we condemn violence in all forms and intolerance.” Both presidents provided solidarity to the Senators’ families.
In Colombia, former President Uribe said, “They attacked the hopes of the nation, the great husband, father, son, brother, and great colleagues.”
