Claudia Tarazona, the spouse of opposition Sen. and presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe, who died from wounds suffered when he was shot throughout a political rally, attends a ceremony honoring her husband, at Congress in Bogota, Colombia on Monday.
Fernando Vergara/AP
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Fernando Vergara/AP
BOGOTA, Colombia — A Colombian senator and presidential hopeful whose capturing at a political rally in June recalled a number of the darkest chapters of the nation’s drug-fueled violence died Monday.
The household of Miguel Uribe Turbay mentioned the politician died at a hospital within the capital, Bogota. Uribe, 39, was shot thrice, twice within the head, whereas giving a marketing campaign speech in a park and had since remained in an intensive care unit in critical situation with episodes of slight enchancment.
“Relaxation in peace, love of my life. I’ll handle our youngsters,” his spouse, María Claudia Tarazona, wrote in a social media publish confirming his loss of life. “I ask God to indicate me the best way to be taught to stay with out you.”
A teenage suspect was arrested on the scene of the June 7 assault in a working-class Bogota neighborhood. Authorities later detained a number of different individuals, however they haven’t decided who ordered the hit or why.
The capturing, which was caught on a number of movies, alarmed Colombians who haven’t seen this type of political violence in opposition to presidential candidates since Medellin drug lord Pablo Escobar declared conflict on the state within the Nineties.
Uribe’s personal mom, well-known journalist Diana Turbay, was among the many victims of that interval. She died throughout a police rescue after being kidnapped by a gaggle of drug traffickers led by Escobar in search of to dam their extradition to the US.
“If my mom was prepared to present her life for a trigger, how might I not do the identical in life and in politics?” Uribe, who was simply 5 when his mom was killed, mentioned in an interview final 12 months with a Colombian information outlet.
Uribe, a lawyer with a masters diploma in public administration from Harvard College, entered politics as a councilman for Bogota when he was 26. In 2022, he was the largest vote-getter within the conservative Democratic Middle get together led by former President Álvaro Uribe.
“Evil destroys every little thing,” the ex-president, who isn’t associated to the senator, mentioned on social media. “They’ve killed hope. Might Miguel’s battle be a light-weight that illuminates Colombia’s path.”
The senator was among the many strongest critics of Colombia’s present authorities. In October, he joined the listing of politicians in search of to switch Gustavo Petro, the primary leftist to manipulate Colombia, within the Might 2026 elections.
Authorities have floated a number of hypotheses about what led to the assault, whereas allies of the candidate have complained that the federal government ignored repeated requests to bolster his state-provided safety element.
Petro took to X to supply condolences to Uribe’s household and stress that the “investigation have to be furthered.”
“The federal government should repudiate the crime and assist,” Petro wrote. “No matter ideology, the individual and their household, their life and security, are the federal government’s precedence. We have now not persecuted any member of the opposition, nor will we.”
Within the fast aftermath of the assault, tens of hundreds of individuals wearing white and waving Colombian flags took to the streets to reject the violence.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was among the many international politicians who lamented the senator’s loss of life.
“The US stands in solidarity along with his household, the Colombian individuals, each in mourning and demanding justice for these accountable,” he posted on X.
By declaring his aspirations to larger workplace, Uribe sought to develop into the nation’s youngest president, though he was not on the listing of favorites within the early levels of the race when he was shot. The capturing prompted the federal government to strengthen safety for all opposition politicians and presidential hopefuls, a few of whom referred to as off political rallies for worry of being attacked.
Javier Garay, a political science professor on the Externado College of Colombia, mentioned Uribe has already “develop into an emblem of the Colombian proper.” Nonetheless, he thought of it untimely to foretell whether or not the senator’s loss of life will strengthen the political faction, given the present lack of unity and numerous proposals from dozens of politicians vying to signify the bloc on subsequent 12 months’s poll.
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Related Press author Regina Garcia Cano contributed from Mexico Metropolis.
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Comply with AP’s protection of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
