Colombia’s would-be presidential contender Miguel Uribe shot, wounded

The senator’s woman says helium ‘is warring for his life’ aft being changeable astatine a run lawsuit successful Bogota.

Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe, a imaginable campaigner successful the country’s statesmanlike predetermination adjacent year, has been changeable and wounded successful the country’s capital, Bogota, according to authorities.

The 39-year-old senator, who was changeable connected Saturday during a run lawsuit arsenic portion of his tally for the presidency successful 2026, is present “fighting for his life”, his wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, said connected X.

Uribe is simply a subordinate of the absorption blimpish Democratic Center party, founded by erstwhile Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

The 2 men are not related.

The Democratic Center enactment released a connection calling the shooting “an unacceptable enactment of violence”.

It said the legislator was hosting a run lawsuit successful a nationalist parkland successful the Fontibon neighbourhood successful the superior erstwhile “armed subjects” changeable him from behind.

It described the onslaught arsenic serious, but did not disclose further details connected Uribe’s condition.

A aesculapian study from the Santa Fe Foundation infirmary said the legislator was admitted successful captious information and is undergoing a “neurosurgical and peripheral vascular procedure”.

Videos connected societal media showed a man, identified arsenic Uribe, being tended to aft the shooting. He appeared to beryllium bleeding from his head.

Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office, which is investigating the shooting, said the legislator received 2 gunshot wounds successful the attack, which wounded 2 others. The connection from the bureau said a 15-year-old lad was arrested astatine the country with a firearm.

The authorities said it is offering immoderate $730,000 arsenic a reward for accusation successful the case.

Miguel Uribe, centre successful bluish tie, a Colombian legislator and statesmanlike campaigner for the right-wing Centro Democrático party, celebrates aft voting against a labour betterment referendum projected by the government, successful Bogota, Colombia, May 14, 2025 [Fernando Vergara/AP]

Colombia’s presidency issued a connection saying the authorities “categorically and forcefully” rejected the convulsive attack, and called for a thorough probe into the events that took place.

Leftist President Gustavo Petro sympathised with the senator’s household successful a connection connected X, and said: “Respect life, that’s the reddish line… My solidarity with the Uribe household and the Turbay family. I don’t cognize however to easiness their pain.”

In a code connected Saturday night, Petro said that the probe would absorption connected uncovering who had ordered the attack.

“For now, determination is thing much than hypotheses,” Petro said, adding that failures successful information protocols would besides beryllium looked into.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio said successful a connection that the US “condemns successful the strongest imaginable presumption the attempted assassination” of Uribe, blaming Petro’s “inflammatory rhetoric” for the violence.

Reactions poured successful from astir Latin America. Chilean President Gabriel Boric said that “there is nary country oregon justification for unit successful a democracy”. And Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa said, “We condemn each forms of unit and intolerance.”

Both presidents offered solidarity to the senator’s family.

In Colombia, erstwhile President Uribe said that “they attacked the anticipation of the country, a large husband, father, son, brother, a large colleague”.

Uribe, who is not yet an authoritative statesmanlike campaigner for his party, is from a salient household successful Colombia.

His begetter was a businessman and national leader. His mother, writer Diana Turbay, was kidnapped successful 1990 by an equipped radical nether the bid of the precocious cartel person Pablo Escobar.

She was killed during a rescue cognition successful 1991.

Colombia has for decades been embroiled successful a struggle betwixt leftist rebels, transgression groups descended from right-wing paramilitaries, and the government.