BOGOTA, Colombia —Colombian senator and presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe Turbay, 39, was shot in the head at a Bogotá campaign event Saturday, in an attack that sent shockwaves through the country.
The politician's condition remains unclear after being shot by a 15-year-old sicario, or paid hitman, while delivering a speech to a small group of supporters in a park in the west of the capital.
Videos posted on social media show the politician bleeding beside a car before being rushed to a nearby hospital. His condition remains serious. Bogotá Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán told reporters Sunday that Uribe had undergone surgery and was now in "the critical hours" of recovery.
The incident is the first high-profile assassination attempt on a politician in decades, raising fears of a return to a bloody era of political violence in Colombia ahead of contentious elections scheduled for May 31 2026.
"At this moment, Miguel is fighting for his life. We ask God to guide the hands of the doctors treating him," wrote Uribe's wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, on her husband's X account on Saturday night.
Uribe Turbay is a far-right politician considered to be controversial former president Álvaro Uribe's protege. The men are not related. He is a staunch critic of incumbent President Gustavo Petro and has campaigned promising greater security in Colombia.
The politician's condition remains unclear after being shot by a 15-year-old sicario, or paid hitman, while delivering a speech to a small group of supporters in a park in the west of the capital.
Videos posted on social media show the politician bleeding beside a car before being rushed to a nearby hospital. His condition remains serious. Bogotá Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán told reporters Sunday that Uribe had undergone surgery and was now in "the critical hours" of recovery.
The incident is the first high-profile assassination attempt on a politician in decades, raising fears of a return to a bloody era of political violence in Colombia ahead of contentious elections scheduled for May 31 2026.
"At this moment, Miguel is fighting for his life. We ask God to guide the hands of the doctors treating him," wrote Uribe's wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, on her husband's X account on Saturday night.
Uribe Turbay is a far-right politician considered to be controversial former president Álvaro Uribe's protege. The men are not related. He is a staunch critic of incumbent President Gustavo Petro and has campaigned promising greater security in Colombia.
