Colombian Senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay, 39, was shot and critically wounded on Saturday during a campaign event in Bogota, the nation's capital. The attack occurred in a public park in the Fontibon neighborhood, where Uribe Turbay was campaigning for the 2026 presidential election. Authorities have reported that he is in a critical condition and "fighting for his life."

According to reports, Senator Uribe was shot from behind, sustaining two or three gunshot wounds, with some accounts indicating he was hit in the head. Videos circulating on social media showed Uribe, appearing to bleed from his head, being tended to by aides and bystanders immediately after the incident. He was airlifted to the Santa Fe Foundation hospital, where a medical report stated he was admitted in critical condition and is undergoing a "neurosurgical and peripheral vascular procedure." His wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, expressed on X that he is "fighting for his life" and urged Colombians to pray for him.

The Colombian Attorney General’s Office, which is investigating the shooting, confirmed that Senator Uribe received two gunshot wounds. Two other individuals were also wounded in the attack, though details about their injuries have not been disclosed. A 15-year-old male suspect was arrested at the scene with a firearm. Police Chief General Carlos Triana stated that the minor is also being treated for a leg injury.

Miguel Uribe Turbay is a prominent member of the opposition conservative Democratic Center party, founded by former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe (the two men are not related). He had announced his presidential bid in March and was accompanied by a team of 21 people, including councilman Andres Barrios, at the time of the shooting. The Democratic Center party described the attack as "an unacceptable act of violence" and denounced it as politically motivated.

Senator Uribe comes from a notable family with a tragic history in Colombian politics. 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. His father was a businessman and union leader. Uribe is also the grandson of Julio Cesar Turbay Ayala, who served as president of Colombia from 1978 to 1982.

The Colombian government, led by leftist President Gustavo Petro, "categorically and forcefully" rejected the violent attack. President Petro expressed sympathy for Uribe's family, stating on X, "I don’t know how to ease your pain. It is the pain of a mother lost, and of a homeland." He later announced that the investigation would focus on identifying who ordered the attack and would also examine potential failures in security protocols. The government is offering a reward of approximately $730,000 (3 billion Colombian pesos) for information leading to the capture of all perpetrators involved.

International condemnation followed the attack. United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the US "condemns in the strongest possible terms the attempted assassination," and blamed President Petro’s "inflammatory rhetoric" for the violence, urging him to "dial back" and protect Colombian officials. Reactions also poured in from Latin America, with Chilean President Gabriel Boric asserting that "there is no room or justification for violence in a democracy," and Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa stating, "we condemn all forms of violence and intolerance." Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe lamented the attack, saying "they attacked the hope of the country, a great husband, father, son, brother, a great colleague," and cancelled a planned trip to France due to the incident.

This attack on Miguel Uribe Turbay marks one of the most serious acts of political violence against a national figure in Colombia in decades, drawing comparisons to the turbulent era of the early 1990s dominated by drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. Colombia has for decades been embroiled in a complex conflict involving leftist rebels, criminal organizations descended from right-wing paramilitaries, and state forces.