Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe shot, suspect arrested

A persin holds a campaign poster at the area where Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay of the opposition Democratic Center party, was shot during a campaign event, in Bogota, Colombia, June 7, 2025. REUTERS

BOGOTA — Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe was shot in Bogota on Saturday, according to the government and his party, and local media reported that he was in a local hospital in serious condition.

The 39-year-old senator, who is running for the presidency in 2026, is a member of the opposition conservative Democratic Center 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 neighborhood in the capital on Saturday when “armed subjects shot him in the back.”

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The party described the attack as serious, but did not disclose further details on Uribe’s condition.

Colombia’s Defense 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.

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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 sympathized 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.” /dl