Colombia: Presidential candidate in mortal danger after assassination attempt

Following an attack on the right-wing conservative politician Miguel Uribe, the suspected perpetrator, a 15-year-old boy, was arrested.

Following an assassination attempt, Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe's life is in critical condition. Following emergency surgery, he remains in "critical condition," the Santa Fé Hospital in Bogotá, where he was treated, announced Monday morning (local time). The 39-year-old conservative politician was shot multiple times during a campaign event in Bogotá on Saturday. The bullets struck Uribe in the head and knee. The 15-year-old suspected shooter has been arrested. The exact circumstances of the attack are not yet known.

Uribe's wife, María Claudia Tarazona, gave a brief statement outside the hospital about her husband's health. "Miguel is still fighting hard for his life," she said. Video footage of the attack is circulating on social media, showing the politician collapsing, covered in blood, after the shooting.

The assassination attempt on the well-known politician shocked many people in Colombia . On Sunday evening, hundreds of Uribe's supporters took to the streets of Bogotá to show their solidarity. The Colombian government, under left-leaning President Gustavo Petro, issued a statement strongly condemning the assassination attempt on Uribe. "This act of violence is not only an attack on his person, but also on democracy, freedom of thought, and the legitimate exercise of political office in Colombia," the presidential office said in a statement.

Petro convened the security cabinet on Monday and announced a meeting with the leaders of the country's major parties to discuss security measures. Police announced that they were already increasing protection for cabinet members and opposition politicians, as well as their families. In a joint statement published on X, around 20 parties from the governing coalition and the opposition condemned the attack and called on people, regardless of political preferences, to work together against hatred and violence.

Miguel Uribe is a member of the right-wing conservative Democratic Center Party, led by Colombia's former President Álvaro Uribe. Despite sharing a similar last name, the two politicians are not related. Miguel Uribe is one of the harshest critics of President Petro's policies in the Senate. Uribe is the grandson of Colombia's former President Julio César Turbay Ayala. His mother was kidnapped and murdered by the drug mafia in 1991.