BOGOTA (AP) — Colombian Sen. Miguel Uribe Turbay, a conservative presidential hopeful, was in "serious" condition Sunday following surgery for a gunshot wound at a political rally a day earlier, Bogota's mayor said.
Mayor Carlos Galán visited the Fundación Santa Fe clinic to express solidarity with the family of the 39-year-old senator.
“He survived the procedure; these are critical moments and hours for his survival,” said Galán early Sunday after receiving information from the medical staff at the clinic.
The hospital said Sunday that Uribe Turbay was recovering in intensive care after undergoing neurosurgery and a procedure on his left thigh. His condition was described as “extremely serious,” and his prognosis was reserved.
“Miguel continues to fight hard for his life, and I ask each of you to keep praying fervently,” Uribe Turbay’s wife, María Claudia Tarazona, said in a statement.
Former presidents Álvaro Uribe and César Gaviria visited the clinic, along with senators, city council members and other politicians, including former senator Ingrid Betancourt.
The attack took place in a park in the Fontibon neighborhood in Bogota when armed assailants shot him from behind, said the right-wing Democratic Center, which was the party of former president Uribe. The men are not related.
Images circulating on social media showed a person firing several shots at the senator from behind, apparently hitting his head before he collapsed.
The Attorney General’s Office, which is investigating the shooting, said the senator received two gunshot wounds in the attack, which also wounded two others. Their identities and conditions have not been disclosed.
The office said a 15-year-old boy was arrested at the scene with a firearm. He was injured in the leg and was recovering at another clinic, authorities said. Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez added that over 100 officers are investigating who was behind the attack.
Elizabeth Dickinson, a security analyst at Crisis Group, told The Associated Press that the assault on the senator was a throwback to a time in Colombia “when violence converted into a political tool at the highest levels.” The incident has frightened Colombians, she added, because it highlights a recurring cycle of violence “even inside families that have been suffering its consequences for decades.”
The intellectual author of the shooting, she said, “clearly had the intention to stir up the country.”
The Colombian Senate called for national unity Sunday in a statement, emphasizing that political leaders and lawmakers face risks in a polarized nation.
Uribe Turbay is the political heir of his grandfather, former President Julio César Turbay who was in office from 1978-82. His mother, Diana Turbay, was a journalist who was kidnapped and killed in 1991 during a failed rescue attempt. Her death came during one of the most violent periods in the history of the South American country, then-plagued by drug cartel violence.
The senator announced his presidential bid in early March. Colombia will hold a presidential election on May 31, 2026, marking the end of President Gustavo Petro's term. Petro, the country's first leftist leader, is not eligible for reelection.
Outside the Fundación Santa Fe clinic, dozens of people gathered in prayer for Uribe Turbay’s recovery.
Late on Saturday, after leading an extraordinary Security Council session, Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president, promised “complete transparency” in the investigation and to find out who was behind the attack. He also promised an investigation into any failures by the senator’s bodyguards.
The president canceled a planned trip to France “due to the seriousness of the events,” according to a presidential statement.
World leaders and senior officials, including from the United States, Chile, Ecuador, and the European Union, condemned the violence and expressed support for the Colombian people and Uribe Turbay’s family.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X that the “United State condemns in the strongest possible terms the attempted assassination of Senator Miguel Uribe.” He urged Petro “to dial back the inflammatory rhetoric and protect Colombian officials.”
“This is a direct threat to democracy and the result of the violent leftist rhetoric coming from the highest levels of the Colombian government,” Rubio said.
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