Conservative Colombian senator in serious condition after shooting at
political rally
[June 09, 2025]
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.”
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People march to the clinic where Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe
Turbay is being treated after he was shot, in Bogota, Colombia,
Sunday, June 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
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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