Colombian senator Miguel Uribe dies two months after rally shooting
Colombian senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay, whose shooting at a June political rally evoked memories of the nation’s most violent years, died Monday in Bogota. Uribe, 39, succumbed to injuries sustained more than two months earlier when he was shot three times—twice in the head—while delivering a campaign speech in a park. Since the June 7 attack, he had remained in intensive care, experiencing only brief periods of improvement. His wife, María Claudia Tarazona, confirmed his death in a heartfelt social media post, pledging to care for their children and asking for God’s guidance in facing life without him.
Authorities arrested a teenage suspect at the scene in a working-class neighborhood of Bogota and later detained several others, though the mastermind and motive behind the assassination remain unknown. The attack, captured on video, shocked Colombians unaccustomed to seeing presidential candidates targeted in such a manner since the era of Medellin cartel leader Pablo Escobar in the 1990s—a period that also claimed the life of Uribe’s mother, journalist Diana Turbay, during a botched rescue from Escobar’s kidnappers. Uribe, a Harvard-educated lawyer and prominent member of the conservative Democratic Center party led by former President Álvaro Uribe, had been one of Colombia’s most popular right-wing figures. His killing drew condemnation from political leaders across the spectrum, with critics accusing the government of ignoring his repeated requests for stronger security. Tens of thousands rallied in the streets after the shooting, dressed in white and carrying Colombian flags, while international figures, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, expressed condolences and called for justice.
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