Authorities say Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, the candidate for the country’s presidential election, was injured and injured at a campaign rally in Bogota on Saturday.
His Conservative Democratic Center issued a statement calling it “an unacceptable act of violence.”
The right-wing Democracy Center said the attack occurred in a park near the armed forces when armed attackers fired from behind. These people have nothing to do with them.
Images circulating on social media show that 39-year-old Uribe Turbay was covered in blood held by several people. A medical report from the Santa Fe Foundation Hospital said the senator was in critical condition and was undergoing “neurosurgery and surrounding blood vessel surgery.”
His wife, María Claudia Tarazona, wrote on Senator’s X account: “Miguel is fighting for his life.” He urged Colombians to pray for him.
The attorney general’s office, which is investigating the shooting, said the senator suffered two gunshot wounds in the attack and two other people were injured. A 15-year-old boy was arrested at the scene with a gun, an office statement said.
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The Colombian government said it provided rewards for occupying all the responsible persons.
“Respect life, that’s the red line,” President Gustavo Petro said in a message posted on his X account. The presidential statement said that shortly after the post was published, Petro canceled his planned trip to France “due to the severity of the incident.”
Late Saturday night, after presiding on an extraordinary Security Council meeting, Colombia’s first left-wing president promised to be “completely transparent” in the investigation and find the intellectual author of the attack. He also promised any failed investigation into the Senator’s bodyguard.
Uribe Turbay is the son of a journalist who was kidnapped and killed in 1991 during one of the most violent times in the country. Colombia will hold a presidential election on May 31, 2026, marking the end of its term in PETRO. The senator announced his presidential bid in March.
Colombia Police Chief Carlos Triana said that during the attack, Uribe Turbay was accompanied by Congressman Andrés Barrios and 20 others. He said the minor who allegedly participated in the attack was arrested at the scene and treated for leg injuries.
“I order Colombian military and police and intelligence agencies to deploy all their capabilities to clarify the facts urgently,” said Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez.
“The United States condemns Miguel Uribe’s attempted assassination in the strongest words,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X. He urged President Petro to “make inflammatory remarks and protect Colombian officials.”
“This is a direct threat to democracy and the result of violent leftist rhetoric from the highest level of the Colombian government,” Rubio said.
“There is no room for violence in democracy or reason for violence,” said Chilean President Gabriel Boric, who said “we condemn violence and intolerance in all its forms.” Both presidents provided solidarity to the senator’s families.
In Colombia, former President Uribe said: “They attacked the hope of the country, a great husband, a father, a son, a brother, a great colleague.”
& Copy 2025 Canadian Press
