Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay Dies After Rally Assassination Attempt

Colombian Senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay has died, two months after being shot during a campaign rally in Bogotá. The 39-year-old politician was gravely wounded on June 7 and had been in intensive care at Santa Fe Foundation hospital. On Monday, hospital officials confirmed he died at 1:56 a.m. from a hemorrhage in his central nervous system.

Uribe, a rising figure in the right-wing Democratic Center party and a member of a well-known political family, had been seeking his party’s nomination for the 2026 presidential election. His attacker, a 15-year-old boy allegedly hired as a hitman, shot him while he was addressing supporters. Uribe’s wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, shared an emotional tribute online, vowing to care for their children in his absence.

The killing has triggered shock and condemnation both in Colombia and abroad. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed deep sorrow, and Colombian President Gustavo Petro called the act a “defeat for Colombia and for life.” Former President Álvaro Uribe, who leads the Democratic Center but is not related to the senator, called the assassination a blow to the country’s hopes.

Authorities have arrested six people connected to the attack, including two men accused of organizing the plot. The teenage shooter, captured shortly after the incident, claimed he had been recruited by a local drug dealer. Colombia’s government has offered a 3 billion-peso reward for information, with assistance from the U.S., U.K., and UAE.

Uribe’s death revives painful memories of Colombia’s violent political history. It also deepens personal tragedy for his family—his mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was killed in 1991 during a failed rescue after being kidnapped by the Medellín Cartel.