Colombian presidential candidate recovering from surgery after an assassination attempt

Colombian senator Miguel Uibe Turbay, a possible right -wing candidate for the country’s presidential election next year, is recovered after having undergone surgery after an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Bogota.

Uibe, 39, spoke to supporters of the capital when a shooter pulled him twice in his head and once at the knee. He was transported by plane to a hospital in critical condition and has undergone a “neurosurgical” and “peripheral” vascular “procedure, the Santa Fe clinic in Bogota told AFP.

He “overcome the first surgical procedure,” said the mayor of Bogota, Carlos Fernando Galan, to the local media.

Uibe’s wife, in an audio recording shared with the media, said her husband “was out of the surgery.”

“He fought the first battle and beat her well. He fights for his life,” she heard.

The attack took place in a park in the Fonbon district when armed attackers fired it from behind, said the right -wing democratic center, which was the former president Álvaro Uibe. Men are not linked.

The Office of the Attorney General, who investigates the shooting, said that a 15 -year -old boy had been arrested on the scene with a firearm. Two others – a man and a woman – were also injured during the shooting.

“Our hearts are broken, Colombia Hurts,” said Carolina Gomez, a 41 -year -old businesswoman, to AFP.

After the shooting, the Party of the Uribe Conservative Democratic Center published a statement qualifying him as “an act of unacceptable violence”.

The Colombian government said it offered a reward for the capture of all those responsible.

“Respect life, it’s the red line,” said President Gustavo Petro in a message published on his X account. Shortly after making the post, Petro canceled a planned trip in France “due to the gravity of the events,” according to a presidential statement.

In a statement on Saturday evening, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States “sentenced the assassination of Senator Miguel Uribe as high as possible”.

Rubio called the shooting “A direct threat to democracy and the result of violent left rhetoric from the highest levels of the Colombian government. Having seen the progress of Colombia in recent decades to consolidate security and democracy, he cannot afford to resume political violence.

Uibe Turbay is the son of a journalist who was kidnapped and killed in 1991 during one of the most violent periods in the country. Colombia will hold a presidential election on May 31, 2026, marking the end of the current mandate of Petro, the first president on the left of Colombia. The senator announced his presidential candidacy in March.

The Colombian police chief, General Carlos Triana, said that at the time of the attack, Uibe Turbay was accompanied by the city councilor Andrés Barrios and 20 other people. A minor who would have participated in the attack was apprehended on the scene and was treated for a leg injury, he said.

“I ordered Colombian soldiers and police forces and intelligence agencies to deploy all their capacities to urgently clarify the facts,” said Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez.

The reactions flocked from Latin America, the Chilean President Gabriel Boric saying: “There is no room or justification of violence in a democracy.” Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa said: “We condemn all forms of violence and intolerance.” The two presidents offered solidarity to the senator’s family.

In Colombia, former President Uibe said: “They attacked the country’s hope, a great husband, father, son, brother, great colleague.”

AFP

contributed to this report.