Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 16, 2025
3 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleSenator Miguel Uribe is critically ill after surgery following a shooting. Three suspects are in custody as Colombia recalls past political violence.
By Julia Symmes Cobb
BOGOTA (Reuters) -Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe, who has been hospitalized since he was shot in the head earlier this month during a campaign event, is out of an emergency surgery performed on Monday but is in "extremely critical" condition, the Santa Fe Foundation hospital said on Monday.
Uribe, 39, a potential presidential candidate from the right-wing opposition, was shot in Bogota on June 7 during a rally.
"Patient Miguel Uribe Turbay is out of surgery and his condition is extremely critical, characterized by a persistent cerebral edema and difficult to control inter-cerebral bleeding," the hospital said in a statement, adding that his condition is of "maximum seriousness."
The more than six-hour surgery was Uribe's third since he was shot. He was rushed into emergency surgery for bleeding in his brain on Monday morning, the hospital said, after undergoing another surgical procedure that was complementary to his original operation.
"I've come out to again ask all Colombians, appealing to their good hearts, to the love they feel for Miguel, for my family and for Colombia, for us to hold a mass prayer. Today is crucial," his wife Maria Claudia Tarazona told journalists outside the hospital.
The shooting, which was caught on video, recalled a streak of candidate assassinations in the 1980s and 1990s, a time when fighting between armed guerrillas, paramilitary groups, drug traffickers and state security forces touched the lives of many Colombians.
Marches were held on Sunday around the country to call for peace, and several vigils for Uribe's health have taken place. Three suspects, including a 15-year-old alleged to be the shooter, are in custody. In a video of the teen's capture, independently verified by Reuters, he can be heard shouting that he had been hired by a local drug dealer.
An adult man and woman are also being held. The man, Carlos Eduardo Mora, has been charged for alleged involvement in planning the attack, providing the gun and being in the vehicle where the shooter changed his clothes after the attack, according to the attorney general's office.
Though the government had floated a connection between them and the shooting, the main dissident faction of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrilla group on Friday denied responsibility for the assassination attempt on Uribe, though it did accept responsibility for a series of unrelated bombings.
Campaigning for the 2026 election is just beginning for potential candidates who want to succeed leftist President Gustavo Petro, who has vowed to advance peace efforts through negotiations and surrender deals with little success.
Uribe, a married father of one, is a senator for the right-wing Democratic Center party founded by former President Alvaro Uribe and one of several potential candidates from the group vying for support. The two men are not related.
Senator Uribe comes from a prominent political family. His grandfather Julio Cesar Turbay was president from 1978 to 1982, and his mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was killed in 1991 in a botched rescue attempt after being kidnapped by an armed group led by drug lord Pablo Escobar.
(Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb; Additional reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Editing by Alistair Bell and Bill Berkrot)
Senator Miguel Uribe is out of surgery but remains in extremely critical condition, suffering from persistent cerebral edema and difficult to control inter-cerebral bleeding.
Senator Uribe was shot in the head during a campaign rally in Bogota on June 7, which was captured on video and has drawn parallels to past political violence in Colombia.
There have been nationwide marches calling for peace and vigils held for Uribe's health, reflecting the public's concern and support for him during this critical time.
Three suspects have been arrested, including a 15-year-old alleged shooter and an adult man charged with planning the attack and providing the firearm.
Senator Uribe is a potential candidate for the 2026 presidential election and is part of the right-wing opposition, making his health and political future significant for Colombia's political landscape.
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