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Colombian senator Miguel Uribe dies after June campaign shooting Colombian senator Miguel Uribe dies after June campaign shooting
(about 2 hours later)
Rightwing presidential hopeful, who had multiple surgeries after shooting in Bogotá, has died aged 39 Rightwing presidential hopeful, who had been in hospital in Bogotá since shooting, has died aged 39
A Colombian senator who was shot in the head in June during a campaign event has died, his family has said. The Colombian senator and presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe, who was shot in the head at a campaign event two months ago, has died, the hospital treating him has said.
Miguel Uribe, a potential presidential candidate from the rightwing opposition, was shot in Bogotá on 7 June during a rally and had multiple surgeries before his death. Uribe, a member of a prominent political family and a lawmaker for the rightwing opposition, was shot on 7 June in Bogotá, where he was speaking to try to secure his party’s nomination for 2026 elections.
His wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, wrote on social media: “I ask God to show me the way to learn to live without you. Rest in peace, love of my life, I will take care of our children.” His wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, announced his death on social media. “I ask God to show me the way to learn to live without you,” she wrote. “Rest in peace, love of my life, I will take care of our children.“
Uribe’s death aged 39 adds further tragedy to his family’s fraught history. His mother, the journalist Diana Turbay, was killed in 1991 during a botched rescue mission after she was kidnapped by the Medellín cartel, headed by the drug lord Pablo Escobar. The attack was the worst act of political violence in around two decades and evoked memories of the turbulent years of the 1980s and 90s, when four presidential candidates were murdered in separate attacks blamed on drug cartels.
Uribe enjoyed a rapid political rise, becoming a recognised lawmaker for the rightwing Democratic Centre party and presidential hopeful known for his sharp criticism of the administration of the leftwing president, Gustavo Petro. The capital’s Santa Fe Foundation hospital, where supporters held regular vigils during Uribe’s treatment and repeated operations – said over the weekend his condition had worsened because of a haemorrhage in his central nervous system. On Monday it announced he had died at 1.56am (0656 GMT).
At 25, he was elected to Bogotá’s city council, where he was a prominent opponent of Petro, then the capital’s mayor, criticising his handling of waste management and social programmes. The former president Alvaro Uribe, the leader of the senator’s Democratic Centre party and no relation to the deceased lawmaker, wrote on X that “evil destroys everything; they killed hope”.
In the 2022 legislative elections, Uribe led the senate slate for Democratic Centre with the slogan “Colombia first”, winning a seat in the chamber. “May Miguel’s fight be a light that illuminates Colombia’s right path,” added the ex-president, who was sentenced by a judge this month to 12 years of house arrest for abuse of process and bribery of a public official.
His family is prominent in Colombian politics. His maternal grandfather, Julio César Turbay, was Colombia’s president from 1978 to 1982, while his paternal grandfather, Rodrigo Uribe Echavarria, headed the Liberal party and supported Virgilio Barco’s successful 1986 presidential campaign. The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, wrote on X that he was saddened by the news. “The United States stands in solidarity with his family, the Colombian people, both in mourning and demanding justice for those responsible.”
Six people were arrested over the shooting, including two men that the attorney general’s office says met in Medellín to plan the assassination.
A 15-year-old boy accused of carrying out the shooting was arrested within hours of the crime, but police have said they are pursuing the “intellectual authors” of the attack. In a video of the boy’s arrest in June, independently verified by Reuters, he can be heard shouting that he had been hired by a local drug dealer.
The defence minister, Pedro Sánchez, vowed on Monday to catch those responsible. “We will not allow the violent to intimidate or silence political voices needed in our democracy,” he wrote on X.
His ministry has said there is a 3bn peso (about £550,000) reward for information leading to the identification and capture of the culprits, and that the US, Britain and the United Arab Emirates are helping with the investigation.
The death of Uribe adds further tragedy to his family’s fraught history. His mother, the journalist Diana Turbay, was killed in 1991 during a botched rescue mission after she was kidnapped by theMedellín cartel, headed by the drug lord Pablo Escobar.
Uribe enjoyed a rapid political rise, as a lawmaker for the rightwing Democratic Centre party and presidential hopeful known for his sharp criticism of the administration of the leftwing president, Gustavo Petro.
In videos posted on social media the day he was shot, Uribe called for respect for the separation of powers and rejected a referendum pushed by Petro on a labour reform bill. He had also criticised the president’s restrictions on the oil industry, promising a plan to attract investment and give companies legal security.
At 25, Uribe was elected to Bogotá’s city council, where he was a prominent opponent of Petro, then the capital’s mayor, criticising his handling of waste management and social programmes.
In the 2022 legislative elections, Uribe led the senate slate for Democratic Centre. Since the shooting, Uribe’s seat in thesenate has been draped with a Colombian flag.
His maternal grandfather, Julio César Turbay, was Colombia’s president from 1978 to 1982, while his paternal grandfather, Rodrigo Uribe Echavarria, headed the Liberal party and supported Virgilio Barco’s successful 1986 presidential campaign.
Uribe is survived by his wife, son and stepdaughters, and his father and sister.