Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe, a potential presidential candidate, is currently in a critical condition in a hospital following a shooting incident at a campaign event in Bogota. His wife and party officials confirmed the news. The Colombian Attorney General’s Office has confirmed the arrest of a minor, who is under 15 years of age, and was found with a Glock pistol-type firearm (9mm). President Gustavo Petro has called for an investigation to identify the person or persons responsible for the attack.
Uribe, a 39-year-old senator from the opposition conservative Democratic Center party, was shot during a 2026 presidential campaign event in a public park in the Fontibon neighborhood of the capital. The party issued a statement condemning the attack, stating that “armed subjects shot him from behind”. The severity of the attack was highlighted, but no further details on Uribe’s condition were disclosed. Social media videos showed Uribe receiving medical attention post-shooting, with visible bleeding from his head.
Maria Claudia Tarazona, Uribe’s wife, posted on social media that her husband was “fighting for his life”. Outside the Santa Fe Foundation hospital where Uribe was being treated, people gathered, some holding candlelight vigils and prayers, while others waved Colombian flags.
Pedro Sanchez, Colombia’s Defense Minister, confirmed the arrest of a suspect in the shooting and mentioned that investigations were underway to determine if others were involved. Sanchez also visited the hospital where Uribe was being treated. The government has offered a reward of approximately $730,000 for information related to the case.
The Colombian presidency issued a statement strongly condemning the violent attack and called for a comprehensive investigation. President Gustavo Petro expressed his sympathy with the senator’s family, stating, “I don’t know how to ease your pain. It is the pain of a mother lost, and of a homeland.” Petro later mentioned that the arrested individual was a minor and the investigation would focus on identifying who ordered the attack.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the attempted assassination of Uribe, attributing the violence to Petro’s “inflammatory rhetoric”. Uribe, who is not yet an official presidential candidate for his party, hails from a prominent Colombian family. His father was a businessman and union leader, while his mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was kidnapped in 1990 by an armed group under the command of the late cartel leader Pablo Escobar and was killed during a rescue operation in 1991.
Colombia has been embroiled in a conflict for decades involving leftist rebels, criminal groups descended from right-wing paramilitaries, and the government.