Colombian Presidential Candidate Miguel Uribe Shot in the Head at Campaign Rally
It was a scene that felt ripped from Colombia’s darkest chapters. On Saturday, June 7, conservative senator and presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe was shot three times, twice in the head, while speaking at a campaign rally in Bogotá. The attack, captured on video and shared widely on social media, shows Uribe mid-speech before gunshots ring out and panic erupts.
Uribe, 39, was airlifted to the Santa Fe Foundation hospital in critical condition. According to Bogotá Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán, he underwent neurosurgery and a procedure on his left thigh. As of Monday morning, he remains in intensive care, fighting for his life. His wife, María Claudia Tarazona, urged the country to pray, saying: “He fought the first battle and fought it well. He is fighting for his life.”
Who Is Miguel Uribe—and Why Was He A Target?
Uribe has been a senator since 2022. He has also been a vocal right-wing critic of President Gustavo Petro. Uribe announced his intention to run in Colombia’s 2026 presidential election last October. He made that announcement from the very site where his mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was killed in a failed rescue mission after being kidnapped by Pablo Escobar’s cartel in 1991.
According to CNN, Uribe’s political legacy runs deep. He’s the grandson of former president Julio César Turbay Ayala. Similarly, he is part of a generation of politicians shaped by Colombia’s history of political violence. Yet Uribe positioned himself as a figure of forgiveness: “I could have grown up seeking revenge. But I decided to do the right thing: forgive, but never forget,” he said last year.
The Shooting That Rocked Bogotá
The attack happened in the Fontibón district during a public campaign event. According to reports from the BBC, NBC News, and CBS News, the police arrested a 15-year-old suspect at the scene with a Glock-style firearm. Local media say agents shot the suspect in the leg during the pursuit. Police later confirmed that two other people were also injured.
Video footage verified by NBC News shows Uribe collapsing as shots are fired. Supporters fled in panic. Another video shows three men holding him as blood covers the hood of a nearby car, moments before paramedics arrive.
“An Attack on Democracy”: Officials and World Leaders React
The attack immediately drew condemnation from across Colombia’s political spectrum—and beyond.
President Petro, in a national address on Saturday night, said the incident marked “a day of pain.” He promised a full investigation and called the shooting “an act of violence not only against [Uribe] but also against democracy,” according to BBC and Al Jazeera reports.
He also signaled that the suspect may not have acted alone. “No resource should be spared… to find the mastermind,” Petro stated, adding that Colombian criminal organizations often recruit minors to carry out attacks.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on X that the assassination attempt was “a direct threat to democracy” and blamed it on “violent leftist rhetoric coming from the highest levels of the Colombian government,” though he didn’t provide specific evidence.
Former presidents Ernesto Samper, Álvaro Uribe, Juan Manuel Santos, and Iván Duque all condemned the shooting, with Duque’s Democratic Center party, of which Miguel Uribe is a member, calling it “an unacceptable act of violence.”
Miguel Uribe’s Condition Remains Critical
Doctors at the Santa Fe Foundation hospital said on Sunday that Uribe “had little response to medical interventions and management” following surgery. He remains in intensive care, with medical teams working to stabilize him. Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a reward of 3 billion pesos (about $730,000 USD) for information about the attack’s organizers.
Supporters and family members held a vigil outside the hospital Saturday night, lighting candles and praying for his recovery. “Our hearts are broken. Colombia hurts,” said one Bogotá resident, speaking to AFP.
What Happens Now?
The shooting comes during a tense moment in Colombian politics. President Petro’s government has been pushing controversial reforms that Uribe and other opposition leaders have fiercely criticized. The rhetoric on both sides has grown increasingly hostile in recent months.
But for many Colombians, the violence is a haunting reminder of the ‘80s and ‘90s, when assassinations of presidential candidates were all too common. Mayor Galán, whose own father, Luis Carlos Galán, was killed during a 1989 campaign, warned: “We cannot return to situations of political violence… when violence was used to eliminate those who thought differently.”
With elections still a year away, it’s unclear how this will impact the race or Colombia’s fragile peace. But for now, all eyes are on Miguel Uribe, who remains in critical condition, as the country prays for his recovery and reckons with the implications of this attack.
