Colombian presidential candidate shot in head at rally, teenager arrested

Bogota:  Colombian senator and 2026 presidential candidate Miguel Uribe was shot during a campaign event in Bogota, authorities have confirmed.

The 39-year-old senator, a prominent member of the conservative opposition Democratic Centre party, was reportedly shot in the back while addressing supporters at a public park in the Fontibon neighbourhood of the capital on Saturday.

According to local media reports, the incident occurred while Uribe was delivering a speech when “armed subjects shot him in the back.”

A video circulating on social media captures the moment gunshots rang out, interrupting his address.

In other images, Uribe appears slumped against the hood of a white car, visibly wounded and smeared with blood, as people rush to support him.

Authorities said at least one bullet struck the senator in the neck or head. He was immediately transported to a nearby hospital, where he remains in serious condition.

As of now, there has been no official update on his current medical status.

Colombia’s Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez announced that a 15-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the shooting.

Sanchez also indicated that investigations are ongoing to determine if others were involved in the attack.

The minister confirmed that he had visited the hospital where Uribe is being treated.

The Colombian presidency strongly condemned the incident, releasing a statement that “categorically and forcefully” rejected the violent attack and called for a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

Uribe is a well-known political figure in Colombia and a member of a prominent family with historical ties to the country’s Liberal Party.

His father was a businessman and union leader, while his mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was kidnapped in 1990 by an armed group under the control of notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar. She was tragically killed during a rescue operation.

His party, the Democratic Centre, which former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe founded, described the attack as serious but refrained from releasing any additional information on the senator’s condition.

Leftist President Gustavo Petro expressed his sympathy toward Uribe’s family in a message posted on X, writing, “I don’t know how to ease your pain. It is the pain of a mother lost and of a homeland.”

Colombia has long been mired in violence fueled by conflicts involving leftist guerrillas, criminal factions descended from paramilitary groups and state forces.

–IANS