Introduction
Introduction Statistics Contact Development Disclaimer Help
.-') _ .-') _
( OO ) ) ( OO ) )
.-----. ,--./ ,--,' ,--./ ,--,'
' .--./ | \ | |\ | \ | |\
| |('-. | \| | )| \| | )
/_) |OO )| . |/ | . |/
|| |`-'| | |\ | | |\ |
(_' '--'\ | | \ | | | \ |
`-----' `--' `--' `--' `--'
lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
•
5 min read
Colombian president vows to hunt ‘mastermind’ behind shooting of
political rival, after 15-year-old arrested
By Mauricio Torres, Fernando Ramos, Chris Lau and Sebastian Jimenez,
CNN
Updated:
11:57 AM EDT, Sun June 8, 2025
Source: CNN
Colombian senator Miguel Uribe, in the running to join next year’s
presidential race, is in a critical condition in hospital after being
shot at an event in Bogota, allegedly by a 15-year old boy.
The 39-year-old, from the center-right Centro Democrático – or
Democratic Center – the biggest opposition party in the South
American nation, had expressed his intention to run in next year’s
election.
He was shot twice on Saturday afternoon in the capital’s Fontibon
district, according to the General Prosecutor’s Office. Police said
the 15-year-old was carrying a Glock pistol when he was arrested.
Video footage showed the senator giving a speech to a crowd before
multiple loud bangs rang out. He was seen lying on the ground as people
around him fled. Police and civilians later rushed him to an ambulance.
Uribe has entered “the critical hours” of recovery after undergoing
an initial surgical procedure, Bogota Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán said
Sunday.
“He came out well from the surgery,” his wife, Maria Claudia
Tarazona, told reporters in an audio recording after the operation,
according to AFP. “He fought the first battle and fought it well. He
is fighting for his life.”
Uribe’s party said he was shot in the back while he was participating
in a campaign event.
In a broadcast statement Saturday evening, 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.”
Santa Fe de Bogota Foundation, the hospital where he is being treated,
said he was undergoing “neurosurgical and peripheral vascular
procedures.” Later Sunday, it said his condition remains “extremely
serious.”
“Uribe’s condition is stable, still in critical condition,”
Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo told local TV network Caracol TV.
A political family
Uribe comes from a prominent Colombian political family. He is the
grandson of Julio César Turbay Ayala, who governed the country from
1978 to 1982, and died in 2005.
The young politician’s mother was Diana Turbay, a journalist
kidnapped by drug traffickers from the Medellín cartel under Pablo
Escobar, and murdered during a rescue operation in 1991. , Nydia
Quintero de Balcázar, is the founder of the organization Solidarity
for Colombia.
The Harvard graduate entered the Senate in 2022, after a career in
local Bogota politics.
He is identified with the right wing of Colombian politics, as the
standard-bearer of the Democratic Center, championing security and
foreign investment.
In October 2024, he announced his presidential bid from the location
where his mother was killed,. “I could have grown up seeking revenge,
but I decided to do the right thing: forgive, but never forget,” he
said.
With the presidential campaign still in its early stages, the
Democratic Center has not yet chosen its official candidate.
International condemnation
The attack drew condemnation from the Colombian government and the
Democratic Center, as well as former presidents and world leaders.
Before Petro’s address, the president’s office released a statement
“categorically and forcefully” condemning the attack.
“This act of violence is an attack not only against the senator’s
personal integrity, but also against democracy, freedom of thought, and
the legitimate exercise of politics in Colombia,” the Presidency
said.
Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez Suárez also announced a $3 billion
pesos ($730,000) reward for information that helps authorities track
down those responsible for the attack.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington condemned the attack
“in the strongest possible terms,” calling it “a direct threat to
democracy.” He attributed it to “the violent leftist rhetoric
coming from the highest levels of the Colombian government” and urged
the Colombian officials to dial back “the inflammatory rhetoric.”
President Petro later said he rejected “opportunistic” attempts to
use the attack for “political purposes.”
Uribe’s Democratic Center party called the shooting “an
unacceptable act of violence.”
“We strongly reject this attack, which not only endangers the life of
a political leader but also threatens democracy and freedom in
Colombia,” it said in a statement.
At least four former presidents – Ernesto Samper, Álvaro Uribe
Vélez, Juan Manuel Santos and Iván Duque – issued condemnations.
Centro Democratico is the party of both Uribe and Duque.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa sent his prayers to Uribe’s family,
adding that “we condemn all forms of violence and intolerance.”
In the late 1980s and early ’90s, when Uribe’s mother was
assassinated, Colombia experienced one of its worst periods of
political violence, with the murders of several presidential
candidates.
Uribe is a prominent member of a new generation of politicians
descended from victims of that violence, along with current Bogota
Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán, son of former Liberal leader Luis Carlos
Galán, who was assassinated in 1989.
One of Uribe’s greatest rivals in the Senate, María José Pizarro,
is the daughter of Carlos Pizarro Leongómez, assassinated in 1990
while running for president of the leftist M-19.
<- back to index
You are viewing proxied material from codevoid.de. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.