Colombian Presidential Hopeful Miguel Uribe Turbay Succumbs to Injuries
Bogotá wakes to heartbreaking news: Conservative senator and contender for Colombia’s highest office, Miguel Uribe Turbay, has passed away just shy of two months after surviving a brutal attack at a campaign rally. He was 39.
The Attack
- Date: June 7
- Location: A packed square in western Bogotá
- Injuries: A bullet to the head and another to the leg
- Aftermath: Emergency surgery followed by weeks in intensive care
Family Tribute
Hours after his death, María Claudia Tarazona—the senator’s wife—posted a farewell on Instagram:
“You remain the love of my life. Thank you for every second of love you gave us, for raising Alejandro like no one else could, and for being the best daddy to our girls.”
Lasting Impact
The June shooting rattled a nation already on edge entering election season. Supporters had kept vigil outside the hospital for weeks, lighting candles and chanting his campaign slogan in hopes of a miracle recovery. With Monday’s announcement, the vigil turns into mourning, and Colombia loses a rising political star whose career was abruptly cut short.
Ambush in the Capital: Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay Survives Murder Attempt
Who Was Targeted?
Miguel Uribe Turbay, a rising Colombian opposition leader and declared candidate in the 2026 presidential race, had just finished a public forum in downtown Bogotá when gunfire erupted. Video footage shows the 38-year-old lawmaker ducking behind parked motorcycles as bullets shattered nearby shop windows.
The Arrest Spree So Far
- May 2019 – first known photo of Uribe at the Concordia Summit, circulated widely after the attack.
- Teenage shooter detained on the spot with a 9 mm pistol.
- Follow-up raids netted at least four more suspects.
- Arrest of “Chipi”: Elder José Arteaga Hernández, a 29-year-old underworld broker better known as Costeño, was captured last month and branded by investigators as the plot’s architect.
Mounting Questions About Motive
Investigators remain tight-lipped, but several threads are emerging:
- Political rivalry – Uribe has spent months grilling President Gustavo Petro from the Senate floor;
- Family trauma – His father, investigative journalist Ramiro Uribe, was kidnapped and executed in 1991 by a coalition of cartel hit men;
- Election timing – Since October, when the Senator formally entered the presidential race, his exposure—and his death threats—have spiked.
Bogotá’s Bloody Ghosts Return
The barrage of bullets carried echoes of earlier convulsions in Colombian public life. During the 1980s and 1990s, kidnappings, car bombs, and candidate assassinations defined election seasons. This fresh assault has reopened a national debate over whether the country is sliding back into the darkness it once fought so hard to escape.
Washington Reacts
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the shooting “in the strongest possible terms.” “This is more than an attack on one man; it is an attack on the very idea of democracy,” he said in a televised statement. While he praised Colombia’s security forces for rapid arrests, he also pointed to “violent leftist narratives emanating from the highest tiers of government” as a possible catalyst for the assault.
Next Steps
Uribe is recovering from two leg wounds; doctors expect a full recovery. Congressional hearings on political violence are scheduled for next week, and the Supreme Court has ordered extra security for all presidential pre-candidates until after ballots close in 2026.
One Sentence to Remember
As street vendors swept broken glass and bullet casings from Avenida Caracas, Colombians confronted the unsettling possibility that the darkest chapters of their history still have unwritten pages.
