Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay is in critical condition after being shot three times—twice in the head—during a campaign rally in Bogotá on Saturday night
The 39-year-old opposition senator was addressing a small group of supporters in a public park when gunfire erupted. Police arrested a 15-year-old suspect at the scene, though the motive remains unclear.
Uribe, representing the right-wing Centro Democrático party, was airlifted to Santa Fe Clinic, where he underwent emergency surgery. Doctors say he suffered gunshot wounds to the skull and knee, describing his condition as “grave.”
His wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, made a tearful appeal to the public:
“Miguel is currently fighting for his life. Let us ask God to guide the hands of the doctors who are treating him.”
Footage of the attack has circulated online, capturing the moment Uribe collapsed mid-speech as the crowd fled in panic. Outside the hospital, supporters have gathered in vigil, praying and chanting for his recovery.
The assassination attempt has sparked outrage across Colombia and beyond. President Gustavo Petro’s administration condemned it as “an attack not only against [Uribe] but against democracy itself.” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the shooting “a direct threat to democracy.”
Uribe, who launched his presidential campaign in October 2024, hails from a prominent political lineage. His mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was killed in 1991 during a failed rescue operation after being kidnapped by Pablo Escobar’s Medellín cartel.
His party, founded by former President Álvaro Uribe, issued a statement denouncing the shooting as “an attack that endangers democracy and freedom in Colombia.”
Follow Us on Facebook – @LadunLiadi; Instagram – @LadunLiadi; Twitter – @LadunLiadi; Youtube – @LadunLiadiTV for updates
Oh dear!
Politics is dirty everywhere