Second man charged over shooting of Colombia presidential candidate
Colombian prosecutors on Thursday charged a second man with attempted murder over the shooting of Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe at the weekend.
Carlos Eduardo Mora Gonzalez stood accused of participating in the "logistics" of the attack and of driving the vehicle used to deliver the gun to the 15-year-old suspected shooter, who is already in custody.
Uribe, a 39-year-old conservative senator, was shot twice in the head and once in the leg while giving a speech in a park on June 7 in western Bogota.
He remains in critical condition but doctors said Wednesday he was showing signs of improvement.
The attack stunned Colombia and raised fears of a return to the country's bloody past of political, cartel and paramilitary violence.
The alleged shooter, who was captured near the scene by Uribe's bodyguards after himself being shot and injured in the leg, said he acted "for money, for my family."
At his arraignment this week, however, he pleaded not guilty to the attack.
Mora Gonzalez is accused of carrying out a "reconnaissance" mission in the working-class Fontibon neighborhood two days before the attack.
Besides attempted murder, he has been charged with "using minors in the commission of crimes" and of weapons possession.
He was remanded in custody.
Prosecutors say that on the day of the attack he was in the car which delivered the 9mm Glock used in the attack to the gunman.
A source close to the case told AFP he was the driver of the vehicle.
The teen, whose identity has been withheld because of his age, got into the car and changed his clothes, according to investigators.
- Family with tragic history -
Uribe is a member of the Democratic Center party of former right-wing president Alvaro Uribe. The two men are not related.
Miguel Uribe is the son of Diana Turbay, a famed journalist who was killed after being kidnapped by Pablo Escobar's Medellin Cartel, and grandson of Julio Cesar Turbay, who led Colombia from 1978 to 1982.
The authorities believe the 15-year-old shooter was a hired gun, but it is not yet known who ordered the hit.
If convicted he faces up to eight years in prison, in keeping with sentencing rules for minors.
Uribe's lawyers claim that his repeated requests for increased security were ignored.
Colombia is experiencing its biggest security crisis in a decade.
On Tuesday, the country was rocked by a string of 24 coordinated bomb and gun attacks that killed at least seven people across the southwest, where government forces are fighting FARC dissidents.
Uribe has been a strong critic of Colombia's first left-wing president, Gustavo Petro, who sought in vain to make peace with the country's various remaining armed groups.
In recent months, Petro, a former left-wing guerrilla, has been accused of dialling up the political temperature by labelling his right-wing opponents "Nazis."
Petro has speculated the shooting was ordered by an international "mafia" or by dissident members of the defunct FARC guerrilla group who refused a 2016 peace deal.
als/das/cb/nl
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wall Street Journal
25 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Will Iran Attempt to Block the Strait of Hormuz?
An image provided by the Iranian Army office in 2022 shows Iranian troops during a military drill near the Hormuz Strait. (Iranian Army office/AFP/Getty Images))
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Greene: ‘Let's pray that we are not attacked by terrorists'
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) called for prayers after President Trump announced strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites late Saturday, adding that she hopes the U.S. is not 'attacked by terrorists.' 'Let us join together and pray for the safety of our U.S. troops and Americans in the Middle East,' she wrote on social media platform X after Trump's announcement. 'Let us pray that we are not attacked by terrorists on our homeland after our border was open for the past 4 years and over 2 Million gotaways came in,' she added. 'Let us pray for peace.' Her statement comes after the U.S. targeted three nuclear sites in Natanz, Esfahan and Fordow, located inside a mountain in Iran. Six 'bunker buster' bombs were reportedly dropped on Fordow, while more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles were launched at the other two sites. Greene has been a notable critic of U.S. involvement in the conflict between Iran and Israel, saying that she backed Trump because he would not involve the nation in foreign conflicts. 'Everyone is finding out who are real America First/MAGA and who were fake and just said it (because) it was popular,' Greene wrote in a 355-word post on the social platform X last week. 'Unfortunately the list of fakes are becoming quite long and exposed themselves quickly.' Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) quickly shot down Greene's criticism, instead saying that she 'doesn't understand' the nuclear threat that Iran poses. 'If you don't understand that Iran, a religious theocracy, religious Nazis would use a nuclear weapon to kill all the Jews, you don't listen to what they say,' Graham said. 'They're a threat to us. They're a threat to the State of Israel. It is not in the world's interest to give this religious fanatic a nuclear weapon.' Greene isn't alone in her stance, as the issue is generating a significant split in MAGA-world. Still, many Republicans praised the strikes on Iran, which had become a hot-button debate in Washington, especially among the GOP. They came after Israel struck Iranian nuclear facilities earlier this month in what it called a 'pre-emptive' attack.
Newsweek
2 hours ago
- Newsweek
Videos of Iranians Sharing 'Final Glimpse' of Homes Flood Social Media
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Iranian social media users are sharing pictures and videos of their homes and of Iran in what one described as a "final glimpse" as many flee their homes. It comes as the U.S. has directly entered the war between Israel and the Islamic Republic. The Context The conflict between Israel and Iran has dramatically escalated in recent days. On Saturday evening, President Donald Trump announced military action on Iran and said that the U.S. had attacked sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, marking the first U.S. intervention in the conflict. A banner bearing a painting that represents members of Iranian society on a building in Tehran, with a message that reads in Farsi: "We are all soldiers of Iran" on June 22, 2025. A banner bearing a painting that represents members of Iranian society on a building in Tehran, with a message that reads in Farsi: "We are all soldiers of Iran" on June 22, 2025. AFP via Getty Images What To Know On Monday, June 16, Trump issued a warning telling "everyone" in Tehran to "immediately evacuate" the city. This came after a warning from the Israel Defense Forces, which was shared in a post to their Persian language account on Sunday, June 15, which said that anyone near sites linked to Iran's military should "immediately leave these areas and not return until further notice." Iran itself has a population of 92.4 million, and Tehran has an estimated population of 9.7 million, according to the World Population Review. The account @ayparamobina on TikTok shared a post on the app which included a slideshow of images showing people's homes in Iran. The first image featured a home with bright colorful furniture, books and an open suitcase on the floor, and the following images showed the interiors of different people's homes. The first image had the text overlay "ppl in Tehran are taking one last picture before evacuating their home," and the post itself was captioned, "They are taking a picture in the hope that everything will be the same when they return. a picture to remember home by." The post has been viewed over 5 million times on TikTok alone, and it has also been reshared on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram. Speaking to Newsweek via email, one account holder, Mobina, said "As an Iranian, I feel it is essential to clarify something that is often misunderstood from the outside. The people of Iran are now caught in a war that they never wanted." Mobina told Newsweek, "I, and the vast majority of Iranians, do not support this regime." A 2023 poll by the Netherlands-based GAMAAN polling agency found that 15 percent of Iran's population supported the regime. Mobina told Newsweek that the sharing of images "Reflects something very deep about Iranian identity." "People in Iran have always tried to live beautifully, to find joy, and to hold on to their humanity. That desire to create warmth, beauty, and life inside the walls of our homes is part of our culture and who we are," Mobina said. The account @shervin_nila shared a clip of their home in Iran. It had the text overlay, "This may be the last video I've made from our home in Tehran," and was captioned, "All we left behind to come to our hometown for all the plans we had may now be only a memory." It has been viewed over 150,000 times as of reporting. nurrraaaaa_ shared a compilation video on TikTok which featured clips of Iran. It had the text overlay, "Was that the final glimpse of my home?" and was captioned, "didn't realize it might be the last time I'd walk those streets." The account hedziworldtour shared a similar video, which featured clips of Iran and her in the country. It had the text overlay, "The world ended when it happened to my country," and was captioned, "They don't know Iran like I do (I have deep empathy for people of every country that has been through something like this, but words can't describe when it's happening to your own country and loved ones)." It has been viewed a million times at the time of writing. The sharing of these images has also prompted discourse online. The account Saax wrote on ayparamobina's TikTok video "WHY ARE PEOPLE SURPRISED THAT THEY HAVE BEAUTIFUL HOMES THAT LOOK LIKE OURS?! WHAT DO YOU THINK TEHRAN IS???" in a comment liked more than 20,000 times. Hedziworldtour shared a TikTok video addressing this, where she wrote, "Watching people comment about how surprised they are that Iranian homes look like they came out of pinterest bc your country has never been humanized a day in its life." The video has been viewed over half a million times as of reporting. Newsweek has reached out to nurrraaaaa_ and shervin_nila via TikTok, and to Hedziworldtour via email. Israel initially struck Tehran and other cities in "Operation Rising Lion," a campaign it said was designed to preempt a planned Iranian attack and to disrupt its nuclear capabilities, which Iran has said are for peaceful purposes. Following the U.S.'s strike on Iran, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, "The United States, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has committed a grave violation of the U.N. Charter, international law and the NPT [Non-proliferation Treaty] by attacking Iran's peaceful nuclear installations." Following the strike, Trump gave an address to the nation, saying, "Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace…Remember, there are many targets left. Tonight was the most difficult of them all, by far, and perhaps the most lethal." What People Are Saying Mobina told Newsweek via email: "For many Iranians, especially in cities like Tehran, Isfahan, or Shiraz, every detail of their home reflects who they are. The way they arrange their books, the carpets passed down from grandparents, the flowers on the balcony, or the artwork on the walls. "Many have taken and shared those final images of their homes with the hope that they might not be destroyed. That one day, they could return. These last photos are acts of remembrance, hope, and quiet resistance." One social media user wrote in a comment on ayparamobina's TikTok that was liked more than 65,000 times: "It's wild seeing homes that look like they came off Pinterest board in a country that is portrayed so negatively, but the people who live there have to flee their country. It just shows how alike we all are, but how our realities are just so drastically different." What's Next The leadership of Iran under Supreme Leader Ali Ayatollah Khamenei will decide whether to retaliate against the U.S. strikes or enter negotiations. The reactions of global powers Russia and China, both of whom are close to Iran, will also be critical.
