The attempted assassination of Colombian presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe Turbay last weekend came against a background of growing political violence that echoes the country’s turbulent past. As authorities investigate who was behind the attack, multiple theories have surfaced — none supported by solid evidence.
On June 7, Uribe was shot during a campaign rally in Bogotá. He has remained in critical condition since. A senator and presidential pre-candidate for the Democratic Center (Centro Democrático) party, Uribe was seeking the nomination ahead of Colombia’s 2026 presidential election.
The suspected attacker, a minor, was arrested at the scene and has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder. According to Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office, the boy was likely recruited by a criminal network engaged in contract killings.
“We are fully aware that this young man is only the trigger man,” said Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo.
In videos widely circulated on social media, the teenager can be heard saying, “Forgive me, I did it for money, for my family,” bolstering the hypothesis of a paid hit.
Authorities are pursuing three main lines of investigation: that the attack may have been motivated by personal grievances, political factors, or as part of a broader plan to destabilize the government.
President Gustavo Petro has blamed what he calls the “Board of Directors of Drug Trafficking,” a network he says operates between Colombia and the United Arab Emirates. Petro has previously alleged the group plotted to assassinate him and was responsible for the 2022 killing of Paraguayan prosecutor Marcelo Pecci in Colombia.
In a recent tweet, Petro shared an infographic by InSight Crime about the criminal network of Albanian trafficker Dritan Gjika in Ecuador, claiming Gjika was part of the “Board” and that members of the group had tried to kill him — although InSight Crime’s reporting makes no reference to such a network.
Presidential hopeful Vicky Dávila accused Nestor Gregorio Vera Fernández, alias “Iván Mordisco,” the commander of the Central General Staff (Estado Mayor Central – EMC), a dissident faction of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC). Dávila claimed she received military intelligence suggesting Mordisco was behind the assassination plot. She also warned that the EMC may be planning further attacks, including possible attempts on her life and that of Senator María Fernanda Cabal, also of the Democratic Center.
Petro responded by claiming that Mordisco and the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia – AGC) have allied with the so-called drug trafficking “Board” to target him.
Three days after the shooting, a wave of bombings struck Cali, Buenaventura, and several towns in the departments of Valle del Cauca and Cauca, leaving at least seven people dead. Authorities believe the EMC carried out the attacks.
Interior Minister Armando Benedetti said that while investigations were still underway, preliminary findings suggested a possible link between those responsible for the bombings and the attack on Uribe — further implicating the EMC. However, no direct evidence was presented. In a statement released on June 12, Mordisco denied any involvement, calling the allegations a media strategy to gain votes.
InSight Crime Analysis
While responsibility for the attack remains unconfirmed, the theories floated by both government and opposition officials point to drug trafficking groups. These groups may have various motives — from pressuring the Petro administration to trying to sway the outcome of the 2026 election.
“There’s a mafia logic that has always been present — every mafioso needs a politician,” said Laura Bonilla, deputy director of the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation (Fundación Paz y Reconciliación – PARES), a think tank focused on governance and security in Colombia. “There is no criminal economy without corruption. That’s clear. That’s why influence over elections is so important.”
In April 2024, Mordisco withdrew from peace negotiations under the government’s Total Peace (Paz Total) policy, which aimed to conduct parallel dialogues with armed groups across the country. The process had already been marred by repeated violations of the ceasefire by the EMC.
Since then, the EMC, led by Mordisco, has clashed with state security forces, particularly in southern Colombia, where it maintains its main criminal stronghold, and in parts of the Amazon. There, it has fought to take territory from its main rival, the General Staff of Blocs and Front (Estado Mayor de Bloques y Frente – EMBF), led by former EMC commander Alexander Díaz Mendoza, alias “Calarcá.”
Although Mordisco has denied involvement in the attempt on Uribe, some analysts view the accusation as part of a strategy to pressure the government to resume negotiations — a goal he has expressed since talks broke down.
“Now that truces have ended, and most dialogues are frozen, nearly all non-state armed actors are trying to pressure the electoral process,” Bonilla said. “They know that’s one way to push the government.”
The term “Board of Directors of Drug Trafficking” was coined in the 1990s to describe a loose network of independent drug traffickers working with multiple criminal groups. After many of its members were captured in the 2010s, authorities considered it dismantled.
Petro has since revived the term to refer to long-standing traffickers with low public profiles. One such figure is Julio Lozano Piraquive, a Colombian trafficker based in the United Arab Emirates and linked to the emerald trade. Lozano has been connected to a series of assassinations in Bogotá in recent years, mostly targeting emerald dealers.
“These are invisible traffickers who’ve operated in Colombia for years but have far more sophisticated profiles. They’ve been more connected to politics and state contracts,” Bonilla said. A potential motive, she added, could be an interest in specific candidates or a broader effort to create instability.
“Chaos works to their advantage — they know how to navigate it,” she said.
Despite Petro’s claims, the Attorney General’s Office told Spanish newspaper El País that it had no evidence of a “Board of Directors of Drug Trafficking” operating between Colombia and the Middle East, and that there are no open investigations into such a network.
Regardless of who was behind the attack, the attempt on Uribe brought political violence — long concentrated in Colombia’s periphery — to the capital. With the 2026 presidential election approaching, this type of violence is likely to become a central issue in the national debate.
Featured Image: Flyers with the image of Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay near the site where he was shot during a political rally in Bogotá, Colombia. Credit: John Vizcaino / AP.
