Colombian Politician in Critical Condition!
Bogotá, Jun 7 (EFE).-
Conservative Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, a presidential hopeful from the Democratic Centre party for the 2026 elections, is in “critical condition” after being shot at a campaign event in Bogotá on Saturday, the Santa Fe Foundation, where he was admitted, said.
“We received at our emergency department Mr. Miguel Uribe Turbay, who was admitted in critical condition and is being treated as a matter of priority by our team of specialists. He is currently undergoing peripheral neurosurgical and vascular procedure,” the clinic said in the first medical report about the senator’s health.
The attack occurred in the Modelia neighborhood, in western Bogotá, where Uribe Turbay, who was participating in a political rally, was shot twice, according to a statement from the Prosecutor’s Office, which confirmed that the alleged perpetrator of the attack is a 15-year-old minor who was arrested at the scene with a pistol.
The senator was initially transferred to the Medicentro Clinic and from there to the Santa Fe Foundation, one of the most prestigious in the country, where he underwent surgery.
“From the moment of their arrival, all the required high complexity care protocols have been activated. Our healthcare team and the technical resources of the institution are fully ready to provide the necessary treatment with the greatest commitment, rigor and humanity,” the medical center added.
Uribe Turbay is a close ally of former President Álvaro Uribe (2002–2010) and one of the most vocal critics of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, particularly regarding the deteriorating security situation in Colombia.
The senator, who was the most voted congressman in the 2022 elections, is the son of Diana Turbay, a journalist kidnapped and murdered by Pablo Escobar’s drug traffickers in 1991, and the grandson of former President Julio César Turbay (1978–1982).
Colombian Foreign Minister Laura Sarabia was one of the first people to condemn the attack.
“Violence can never be the way forward. I strongly condemn the attack on Miguel Uribe. I sincerely hope he is well and out of danger. Nothing justifies the use of violence in a society that seeks peace,” Sarabia wrote on X.
Uribe Turbay was an alderman in Bogotá from 2012 to 2015 and later served as Secretary of Government in Enrique Peñalosa’s office from 2016 to 2019. He has been a senator since 2022.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Saturday that his government would spare no effort to discover those behind the attack and did not rule out that his bodyguard failed to protect him.
“All the investigation protocols at the highest level, with the highest professional quality, working as a team between all intelligence agencies, have to concentrate from now on, on discovering who the intellectual murderer is,” Petro said in a speech to the country in which he was surrounded by police and military authorities.
The president said that he had ordered that even the politician’s bodyguard to be investigated because a breach in his security may have occurred. EFE jga/pd
