Colombian presidential candidate shot in head at rally; teen arrested
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Bogota: Colombian senator and 2026 presidential candidate Miguel Uribe was shot during a campaign event in the capital city of Bogota, authorities confirmed on Saturday. The 39-year-old politician, a prominent member of the conservative opposition Democratic Centre party, was addressing supporters in a public park in the Fontibon neighbourhood when the attack took place.
According to reports from local media, Uribe was delivering a speech when armed individuals opened fire, striking him in the back. A widely circulated video on social media captures the moment gunshots interrupted his address, while subsequent images show him slumped against the hood of a white vehicle, visibly wounded and smeared with blood, as bystanders rushed to his aid.
Authorities later confirmed that Uribe sustained at least one gunshot wound to the neck or head. He was immediately transported to a nearby hospital, where he remains in serious condition. As of Saturday night, no official update had been released regarding his medical status.
Colombian Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez announced the arrest of a 15-year-old boy in connection with the shooting. Investigators are now working to determine whether others were involved in the attack. Sanchez also visited the hospital where Uribe is undergoing treatment.
The Colombian presidency issued a strong condemnation of the shooting, describing it as a violent and unacceptable act. A statement from the presidential office said the government "categorically and forcefully" rejected the attack and called for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Uribe is a well-known figure in Colombian politics, hailing from a prominent family with deep roots in the country’s political and media spheres. His father was a businessman and union leader, while his mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was kidnapped in 1990 by a group under the control of infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar. She was tragically killed during a rescue operation.
Uribe is a senior figure in the Democratic Centre party, founded by former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. The party described Saturday’s shooting as a grave incident but has not provided any further updates on the senator’s condition.
President Gustavo Petro, a leftist and political rival of Uribe, extended his sympathies to the senator’s family through a message posted on X (formerly Twitter). “I don’t know how to ease your pain,” Petro wrote. “It is the pain of a mother lost and of a homeland.”
The shooting has underscored the persistent climate of political violence in Colombia, a country long troubled by conflict involving leftist guerrilla groups, criminal organisations descended from paramilitary forces, and state security forces.
With IANS inputs
