Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay Dies after being Attacked in Bogotá

After two months in the hospital, Colombian senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay died on August 11.  This was reported by his wife, María Claudia Tarazona, on her social networks.  “You will always be the love of my life. Thank you for a lifetime of love, thank you for being a dad to the girls, the best dad to Alejandro,” Tarazona said.  “I ask God to show me the way to learn to live without you. Our love transcends this physical plane. Wait for me, for when I fulfill my promise to our children, I will come find you, and we will have our second chance.  Rest in peace, love of my life.  I will take care of our children,” she added. 

Uribe Turbay was attacked on June 7 while attending a political rally in the Modelia neighborhood of Bogotá. He was shot twice in the head and once in the left leg. He was at a political event ahead of the 2026 presidential elections, in which he was seeking the Democratic Center nomination. He was 39 years old.  The senator from the right-wing Democratic Center party was hospitalized at the Santa Fe Foundation clinic, where he underwent several surgeries. Although he improved somewhat, his condition never rose above critical condition. In its most recent report, the hospital detailed that the politician had suffered a central nervous system hemorrhage, which required emergency procedures.  “I receive with sorrow the news of the death of Miguel Uribe Turbay.

Terrorism took from us a promise of Colombia and a leader of integrity and transparency. My solidarity with his family and all his loved ones in this sad time,” said former Colombian President Iván Duque.  “What a profound pain! Colombia is in mourning. The violence that gnaws at us has taken Miguel Uribe Turbay, a man whose legacy of service and love for Colombia inspires us all. His struggle for life was a test for us, and his passing leaves a void that cannot be filled,” the Democratic Center party said in a statement.  Another Colombian political figure who reacted was former President Álvaro Uribe (2002-2010).

He stated that, with the senator’s death, “they killed hope.”  “Evil destroys everything; they have killed hope. May Miguel’s struggle be a light that illuminates Colombia’s right path,” said the former president, who is not related to the senator but is the founder and leader of the right-wing Democratic Center party.  U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also joined in the reactions, expressing his solidarity with the family.  “It is with profound sadness that we learned of the tragic death of Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay. The United States stands in solidarity with his family and the Colombian people, both in their grief and in demanding justice for those responsible,” he said. 

Colombian Authorities Pledge to Clarify and Punish the Murder of Uribe Turbay

High-ranking Colombian officials mourned the death of Senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay on Monday, August 11, which occurred early in the morning after more than two months hospitalized for serious injuries sustained in an attack. They reiterated their commitment to solving the crime.  The Prosecutor’s Office announced that the case will be classified as an assassination, that is, the killing of a person due to their political or social significance, and will request a new hearing to charge the defendants with aggravated homicide, which carries harsher penalties. 

Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo stated that “the perpetrator and those who participated in the preparation and planning of the assassination are already facing justice” and that the search for those responsible continues “without ruling out any hypothesis,” alluding to suspicions reported by the police that the Second Marquetalia guerrilla group, a dissident group of the former FARC, is behind the attack.  Among the six arrested are the perpetrator, a 15-year-old boy detained at the scene with the weapon used in the attack , and Elder José Arteaga Hernández, alias “El Costeño,” identified as the coordinator of the attack. 

“On this day of profound sadness, we reaffirm our commitment to capturing every last one of those responsible for this assassination that has plunged Colombia into mourning,” said Police Director Major General Carlos Fernando Triana on his X account.  Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez Suárez emphasized that “violent actors will not intimidate or silence the political voices that democracy requires.”  “Our institutions will continue working hard to identify and bring to justice all those responsible for this attack, and we will not allow the violent to intimidate or silence the political voices our democracy requires,” he added.

Petro’s Silence

The Colombian Presidency, for its part, expressed on its official X channel “its most sincere condolences” to the family of the 39-year-old politician, although the president, Gustavo Petro, of whom Uribe Turbay was a severe opponent in the Senate, remains silent.  Petro, who is very active on social media, commenting on national and international affairs, has addressed the attack on several occasions.  Vice President Francia Márquez, the first member of the Executive Branch to speak out, called for national unity against violence: “Democracy is not built with bullets or blood; it is built with respect, dialogue, and recognition of our differences.” 

Attorney General Gregorio Eljach, in addition to lamenting the murder of Miguel Uribe Turbay, emphasized that the incident occurred under “reprehensible” circumstances that must be clarified “as quickly as possible for the good of Colombia and its democratic process.”  Eljach called for a “set aside conflict and polarization” to seek spaces for dialogue that will bring the country closer to peace and reconciliation, and reaffirmed the Attorney General’s Office’s commitment to institutionality and democracy.  Uribe Turbay, a senator for the right-wing Democratic Center party, was shot twice in the head and once in the left leg during a political rally in Bogotá.  Due to these injuries, he remained hospitalized for 64 days at the Santa Fe Foundation, where he died at 1:56 a.m. local time (6:56 a.m. GMT) on Monday, August 11, after worsening on Saturday due to a hemorrhage in the central nervous system.

Panama Expresses Solidarity with Colombia after the Death of Miguel Uribe Turbay and Calls for Peace

“A Defeat for Colombia” Gustavo Petro Speaks Out after the Death of Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay

Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Monday described the death of opposition senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay as “a defeat” for the country, two months after he was seriously wounded in an attack.  “That’s why we’re sad. Miguel’s death hurts us, as if he were one of our own. It’s a defeat. Every time a Colombian is murdered, it’s a defeat for Colombia and for life. That’s why all that’s left is to grieve and move forward,” Petro wrote in a post on his X account.  The president emphasized that “life is above any ideology” and lamented that “in a progressive, life-loving government,” there was “an attack with a tragic outcome against an opposition senator,” referring to Uribe Turbay, of the right-wing Democratic Center party.