Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay is in surgery after being shot during a campaign event in Bogotá. The attack has brought back memories of the country’s violent political past.
Doctors transferred the 39-year-old senator to a hospital in northern Bogotá. He had first received emergency care at a local medical centre. Surgeons are now performing neurosurgical and vascular procedures. The Attorney General’s office confirmed that he was hit twice.
Uribe’s wife said he is “fighting for his life”. The attack happened on Saturday while he was speaking to supporters in a neighbourhood of the capital.
Police arrested a 15-year-old boy at the scene. A crowd detained and beat him before authorities arrived. He is now receiving treatment in a medical facility. Investigators also recovered a 9mm Glock pistol.
President Gustavo Petro said investigators are still trying to find out who ordered the attack. The motive remains unclear.
Security concerns grow amid armed group activity
Local councillor Andrés Barrios was at the event. He said Uribe had visited nearby shops and was addressing around 250 people when shots rang out. A member of his security team shielded him. Uribe was then taken by car and transferred to a passing ambulance.
Illegal armed groups have been gaining ground across the country. The attack on a high-profile candidate has raised fears that Colombia could be returning to a more violent era. Investor confidence may also be affected.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Colombia saw several political assassinations. Four presidential candidates were killed during that period. Uribe’s own mother, journalist Diana Turbay, died in 1991 during a kidnapping carried out by Pablo Escobar’s cartel.
Uribe’s policies and political stance
Uribe is a member of the Democratic Centre party. He supports a hard-line approach against criminal organisations involved in drug trafficking. He has often warned that Colombia risks falling back into chaos. Just two days before the attack, he told an audience in Cartagena that the country is being “dragged back to a past of violence”.
He has criticised President Petro’s “total peace” strategy. The policy involves talks with guerrilla groups and drug-trafficking militias. So far, it has not led to major demobilisations. Some groups have used the process to expand their territory while avoiding military pressure.
On Saturday evening, crowds gathered outside Fundación Santa Fe hospital, where Uribe is being treated. Some people chanted slogans against the government.
The Petro administration condemned the attack. Officials promised to increase protection for political candidates ahead of the 2026 elections.
International reactions and background
US Senator Marco Rubio called the attack “a direct threat to democracy”. He blamed what he described as “violent leftist rhetoric” from senior members of the Colombian government.
Uribe is the grandson of former President Julio César Turbay. He studied at Universidad de los Andes and later at Harvard’s Kennedy School. He supports a pro-business agenda and opposes Petro’s push to expand state control over the economy.
Former President Álvaro Uribe, who is not related to the senator, described him as a “hope for the motherland” and said he was praying for his recovery.
The incident follows a similar case in Ecuador in 2023, where presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was killed. Drug-related violence has been rising in the region.
