Colombian senator Uribe shows signs of improvement after shooting

By Nelson Bocanegra

BOGOTA (Reuters) -Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe remains in a critical condition after being shot in Bogota on Saturday, but has shown signs of neurological improvement, the hospital treating him said on Wednesday.

The 39-year-old, a potential presidential contender, is a member of the opposition right-wing Democratic Center party. He was shot in the head as he was addressing a campaign event in a public park in the capital.

"Despite the severity of his condition, there are signs of neurological improvement due to a decrease in cerebral edema. There is also evidence of a trend toward hemodynamic stabilization," the Santa Fe Foundation hospital said in a statement.

The institution added that Uribe remains under strict neurological monitoring and receiving required support at the hospital's ICU.

In the recent days, Uribe's shooting and a series of bomb attacks on the nation's southwest have shaken Colombians, harking back to decades of fear and violence caused by armed guerrillas, paramilitary groups and drug traffickers.

Leftist President Gustavo Petro, who has vowed to bring peace to the country's conflict, found in Uribe a staunch critic of his security strategy aimed at ending six decades of armed conflict.

The senator argued that Petro's approach of pausing offensives on armed groups while peace talks had failed has backfired.

"Thousands of Colombians are currently suffering the terrible circumstances and consequences of the war," Uribe's wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, told reporters outside the hospital, as she called for peace.

"Miguel is where he is right now because he was fighting for the unity and healing of a country at war," she added.

The senator has argued that Petro's approach of pausing offensives on armed groups, despite the failure of peace talks, has backfired.

(Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra; Additional reporting by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Nick Zieminski)