Colombian Presidential Candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay Critically Wounded

Colombian senator and potential 2026 presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay was critically wounded during a campaign rally on Saturday, June 7, 2025, in the Fontibon district of Bogotá.

During the event, an armed individual shot him in the back, resulting in at least two injuries — to the head and chest. According to police reports, the shooter is a 15-year-old boy who was apprehended at the scene with a firearm. The attacker was also reportedly injured during the incident.

Uribe Turbay, 39, was urgently hospitalized. He was initially taken to the Medicentro clinic and then transferred to Santa Fe Foundation Hospital, where he is undergoing neurosurgical and vascular treatment. His condition is reported as critical. His wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, wrote on social media platform X that he is ‘fighting for his life.’

President Gustavo Petro strongly condemned the attack as ‘an assault on democracy’ and canceled his planned trip to France. He also pledged a thorough investigation and a review of potential security failures.

Defense Minister Pedro Sances announced that military and intelligence units have been mobilized for the investigation. A reward of 3 billion pesos (approximately $730,000) has been offered for information leading to the organizers.

Among international responses, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the incident as ‘a direct threat to democracy’ and linked it to President Petro’s political rhetoric. Presidents Gabriel Boric of Chile and Daniel Noboa of Ecuador also expressed support for Uribe Turbay’s family and called for heightened security.

Miguel Uribe Turbay is a member of the center-right party ‘Centro Democrático’, grandson of former president Julio César Turbay Ayala, and son of journalist Diana Turbay, who was kidnapped and later killed by drug lord Pablo Escobar in 1991. He had dedicated his campaign to ending political violence — a message now marked by tragic irony.

This is the most serious attack on a political figure in the capital since the late 20th century, raising fresh concerns about election security ahead of the 2026 presidential race and evoking painful memories of the assassination of Luis Carlos Galán in 1989.