Presidential pre-candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay is in a critical state following the attack, with details still developing and a 15 year old suspect in hospital and under custody.
Colombian politician Miguel Uribe Turbay, 39, is in a critical state today following an attempted assassination in Bogotá. It appears that one of his attackers, a 15 year old, is also in hospital. Political figures from all sides have condemned the attack and called for peace.
The attack took place in parque El Golfito in the localidad Engativa, in the west of the city and Uribe Turbay was taken to a nearby hospital and later the Fundación Santa Fe for urgent medical attention after a bullet appeared to hit him in the head.
Uribe Turbay was campaigning as part of his pre-candidacy for next year’s presidential elections when two men arrived on a motorbike. The passenger dismounted and fired a number of shots from behind, five or six of which hit the senator.
A shootout developed between the senator’s bodyguards and the assassins, after which Bogotá mayor Carlos Fernando Galán confirmed that a 15 year old had been captured and detained. A reward of up to COP$3bn has been put in place by the Ministry of Defence for further information.
Fellow politicians from across the political divide have condemned the attack, including current president Gustavo Petro who said “Respect life, that is a red line. Colombia should not kill its sons, because they are also our sons”. The president has cancelled his planned diplomatic trip to France following the attack.
Other political heavyweights put out messages of support, from ex-presidents Iván Duque and Álvaro Uribe to current canciller Laura Sanabria and interior minister Armando Benedetti, with all sides thankfully unwilling to use the event to score political points.
Just a day before, at an event in Cartagena, Uribe Turbay had expressed his worries of Colombia returning to violence, saying “a country without violence is my proposal, because peace is not impunity (…) we are not ready to return to that history of violence that the majority of Colombians have had to live ”. Those words now seem grimly prophetic.
The attack is both a terrifying reminder of the potential for volatility in Colombian politics and also of decreasing security levels in the capital. Armed attacks often take place on motorbikes and in the past the city has banned ‘parrillero’ passengers from parts of the city.
Who is Miguel Uribe Turbay?
Miguel Uribe Turbay is a leading figure in Colombian politics. He is currently a senator for the conservative Centro Democrático party and a front-runner for their ticket in the 2025 presidential elections. He has held a number of other political positions, including a spell as Bogotá councillor.
A strong critic of the current administration, he is on the right wing of politics and has a long and storied history of opposing Gustavo Petro. That dates back to his time on the Council of Bogotá, of which he became president.
His background is deeply intertwined with Colombian political events: his grandfather Julio César Turbay Ayala was president from 1978 to 1982 and his mother Diana Turbay was a noted journalist who was kidnapped by the Medellín cartel and died in a rescue attempt.
If he were to become the nominee for the Centro Democrático, he would likely be one of the better-placed candidates in the race for the Palacio Nariño, due to the powerful party machine and voter base. Today’s events have made that unclear.