Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, one of the presidential candidates for the Uribe-led Democratic Center party, was seriously injured this Saturday in an attack during a campaign event in Bogotá, Colombia.
He was shot multiple times in the head by a 15-year old gunman who was arrested at the scene and treated for leg injuries. The shooting occurred in the Modelia neighborhood, located in western Bogotá, and the 39-year-old senator was rushed to a clinic.
Uribe’s family has a long political history combatting drug cartels since his grandfather was Colombia’s President from 1978-1982 during the rise of Pablo Escobar. He himself survived an attack by rebel group M-19 of which current President Gustavo Petro was a member of of the time.
Miguel’s mother died after being kidnapped in 1991 by Pablo Escobar’s men. As the daughter of a former Colombian president, she was targeted when the Medellin Cartel was going at war with the government over possible US extradition law changes.
WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES & VIDEO BELOW
Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the attack and vowed to hunt down those responsible, suggesting other criminals may have been involved.
“No resource should be spared, not a single peso or a single moment of energy, to find the mastermind … Wherever they live, whether in Colombia or abroad,” said Petro.
The president pointed to a pattern of Colombian criminals taking advantage of minors and promised an independent investigation to determine the “intellectual authors” of the attack – speculating there may be a link to “crime bosses” responsible for several political assassinations in the country.
He expressed his hope that the opposition senator would survive and said politics should be “free of violence.”
The shooter was a 15-year old teenager who was arrested after fleeing the area and shooting at Uribe’s bodyguards and others behind him. He was wounded in the leg as seen in this video.
Miguel Uribe Turbay is unrelated but also close to former President Álvaro Uribe and one of Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s harshest critics, especially regarding the deteriorating security situation in the country.
His father was a union leader and businessman tied to the Liberal Party. His mother, Diana Turbay, a journalist, was kidnapped in 1990 by a group working under drug lord Pablo Escobar and died in a failed rescue attempt.
Diana Turbay was the daughter of Julio Cesar Turbay Ayala, Colombia’s 25th president. She founded and directed the news magazine Hoy x Hoy and was known for her sharp questions, deep empathy, and refusal to sensationalise violence, a rarity in Colombia’s media at the time.
In October 2024, he announced his presidential bid from the location where his mother was killed, saying that her death shaped his life. “I could have grown up seeking revenge, but I decided to do the right thing: forgive, but never forget,” he said.
Mother Kidnapped by Escobar
On January 25, 1991, Diana, just 40, died from a gunshot wound during a botched rescue mission. She had been held hostage for nearly five months by operatives of the Medellin Cartel, Colombia’s most feared criminal empire, run by Escobar. But her story, and the events leading to her death, began long before that tragic day.
In August 1990, Diana set out on what she believed would be a landmark interview with a guerrilla leader known as “Cura Perez,” a high-ranking figure in the ELN (National Liberation Army). Accompanied by five other journalists and a cameraman, she left Bogota and headed into Antioquia’s rugged mountains.
The interview was a trap.
The supposed guerrillas were actually members of Los Priscos, a brutal gang working directly under Pablo Escobar. Their mission was to kidnap prominent Colombians to pressure the government into stopping extradition to the United States, Escobar’s most feared outcome.
She was held at a remote ranch in Copacabana, north of Medellin. Fellow hostage Richard Becerra, a cameraman, was also detained with her. Reports say she was treated “humanely” by her captors. She managed to smuggle out letters, encouraged the release of another journalist, and reportedly asked authorities not to use force. She won the respect of even those who guarded her. But time was running out.
On January 25, 1991, Colombian police, acting on intelligence, launched a rescue operation without informing her family. What happened next was tragic.
In the crossfire, Diana was hit in the back. The bullet damaged vital organs. She was rushed to a hospital in Medellin but died shortly after undergoing emergency surgery. It was never confirmed whether the fatal shot came from her captors or the police, but the operation was widely condemned. Her family had pleaded against a forced rescue, fearing exactly this outcome.
Her death is chronicled in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s News of a Kidnapping.
Cooperation Between Mexico and Colombia
The Mexican government seeks to collaborate with Colombian authorities to address security and drug trafficking issues due to the involvement of foreigners in high-impact criminal acts.
In a press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum reported that she has held talks with her Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, to present information on criminal activities.
“For several months now, I mentioned to President Petro the need to form a high-level group for security issues between Colombia and Mexico. Just as we coordinate with the United States on our border, we also seek collaboration with the Colombian government to address any criminal activity,” Sheinbaum said Thursday morning.
The Mexican President’s statements are related to what happened on May 27 in Michoacán , where eight soldiers lost their lives after a narcotics explosion in the community of El Santuario, in the municipality of Los Reyes. Seven Colombians were arrested for the drug explosion in Michoacán. President Gustavo Petro confirmed that former Colombian military personnel were among those arrested.
