Colombia presidential hopeful dies after June rally shooting
BOGOTA
Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe has died two months after being shot at a campaign rally, his family said on Aug. 11, as the attack rekindled fears of a return to the nation's violent past.
The 39-year-old conservative senator, a grandson of former president Julio Cesar Turbay (1978-1982), was shot in the head and leg on June 7 at a rally in the capital Bogota by a suspected 15-year-old hitman.
Despite signs of progress in recent weeks, his doctors on Aug. 9 announced he had suffered a new brain hemorrhage.
"Rest in peace, love of my life," his widow Maria Claudia Tarazona wrote on Aug. 11 in a post on Instagram.
"Thank you for a life full of love."
She attended the state ceremony at Congress in Bogota, where Uribe's body will remain for public viewing until today.
Authorities have arrested six suspects linked to the attack, including the alleged shooter, who was captured at the scene by Uribe's bodyguards.
Following a nationwide manhunt, police announced the arrest of an alleged mastermind behind the attack, Elder Jose Arteaga Hernandez, alias "El Costeno."
Police have also pointed to a dissident wing of the defunct FARC guerrilla group as being behind the assassination.
The attack on Uribe, a leading candidate ahead of the 2026 presidential election, has reopened old wounds in a country wracked by violence.
Four presidential candidates were assassinated during the worst phase of violence in the 1980s and 1990s under Escobar, who terrorized citizens of Bogota, Medellin and elsewhere with a campaign of bombings.
Writing on X, left-wing President Gustavo Petro, of whom Uribe was a fierce critic, said the government's role was to "repudiate crime... regardless of ideology" and assured the safety of Colombians was his top priority.
