logo
Woman arrested over alleged links to Colombia presidential candidate shooting

Woman arrested over alleged links to Colombia presidential candidate shooting

France 2415-06-2025

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.
The alleged shooter, a 15-year-old boy, and an accomplice who was accused of participating in the "logistics" of the attack had already been arrested.
On Saturday, a police source informed AFP of a woman -- suspected of having links to the attack -- who was arrested in the Amazon region of Caqueta.
"In the next few hours, they will transfer her to Bogota," the police source said, without providing further details.
The other two detainees, heavily guarded in a prosecutor's bunker, are accused of homicide and carrying weapons.
The minor, identified as the alleged gunman, pleaded not guilty to the charges on Tuesday.
According to a report Saturday in Colombian magazine Semana, he said he was offered 20 million pesos (more than $4,800) to kill the politician.
The newspaper El Tiempo also reported that one of the accused named a criminal who lives in Ecuador and controls a drug dealing area in Bogota as the alleged mastermind.
Uribe remained hospitalized in intensive care, though he showed some signs of improvement this past week, doctors said Wednesday.
President Gustavo Petro said the senator's improving health "cannot be explained by science."
"He should be dead... and what's happening is that he's recovering," Petro said Saturday.
Uribe's party, the opposition Democratic Center, temporarily suspended its campaign events for the 2026 presidential elections on Friday.
Uribe has been a strong critic of Petro, Colombia's first left-wing president, who sought in vain to make peace with the country's various remaining armed groups.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Gulf states begin diplomatic scramble to end Israel-Iran conflict
Gulf states begin diplomatic scramble to end Israel-Iran conflict

France 24

time3 hours ago

  • France 24

Gulf states begin diplomatic scramble to end Israel-Iran conflict

As Iran and Israel trade strikes and the US weighs joining in, wealthy Gulf states on the conflict's doorstep are engaged in frantic diplomacy to halt the war – but solutions remain elusive. A spillover of the conflict or the Iranian government's collapse are both worrying outcomes for the energy-rich region, which hosts several major US military bases. Peace and stability have been central to the rise of Gulf powers including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who are pivoting their economies towards business and tourism. Hoping to avert the crisis, Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, has been talking to Iran and the United States since "day one", Ali Shihabi, an analyst close to the royal court, told AFP. "But it does not look promising that something will happen very soon," he added. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto Saudi ruler, and the UAE's President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, have both spoken to Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian in recent days. The Emirati president also held a phone call on Wednesday with Russia's President Vladimir Putin, an ally of Iran, who offered to mediate in the conflict. Israel's launching of the war scuppered Oman-brokered talks between Tehran and Washington that were supported by Gulf nations, who have been pursuing a détente with their giant neighbour after years of strained ties. 'Reckless and miscalculated' On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump demanded Iran's "unconditional surrender" and warned it could easily assassinate its supreme leader, fuelling fears of American intervention. Hours later, the UAE's Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said the Gulf country's president had "conducted intensive diplomatic calls ... to de-escalate tensions and prevent the conflict from spreading". Sheikh Abdullah warned against "reckless and miscalculated actions that could extend beyond the borders of the two countries", in a strongly worded statement published by the official WAM news agency. Trump had initially urged Iran to come to the negotiating table, but an official briefed on talks said Tehran told Qatar and Oman that it "will not negotiate while under attack". Oman, Iran's traditional intermediary, said it was engaged in diplomatic efforts as the daily strikes continue. Meanwhile Qatar, a key mediator in the Israel-Hamas war and a negotiator with Iran in the past, has also been "engaging daily" with the US, its foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday. Former Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani warned on X that "it is not in the interest of the Gulf states to see Iran ... collapse", adding that they would be "the first to be harmed" by the war's repercussions. 'Almost no influence' An Arab diplomat told AFP: "Everyone in the Gulf is going to say we are better off making sure we have a deal with Iran, a diplomatic solution with Iran." Shihabi, the Saudi analyst, echoed the sentiment, saying the best outcome was "obviously an agreement between Iran and (the) US". Diplomatic intervention by Saudi Arabia, once a fierce critic of Iran, comes two years after they restored ties. The UAE, which recognised Israel in 2020, has also patched up relations with Tehran since 2022. "Whereas the Saudis may have once called for 'cutting off the head of the snake', their approach toward Iran has shifted dramatically," said Hasan Alhasan, a senior fellow for Middle East policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. However, "the Arab Gulf states have almost no ability to shape Israel's or Iran's behaviour or influence the outcome of this war", he told AFP. "It is difficult to see how Israel's military campaign against Iran, whose objectives seem to have quickly metastasised from eliminating Iran's nuclear and missiles programmes to overthrowing the regime, ends well for Iran's Arab Gulf neighbours," Alhasan added.

Protesters slam war profiteering, Israel at French air fair
Protesters slam war profiteering, Israel at French air fair

Local France

time3 hours ago

  • Local France

Protesters slam war profiteering, Israel at French air fair

The long-planned protest at the Paris Air Show outside the French capital also comes as Israel's war with Iran drags on into a ninth day, with Tehran threatening to hit back in force at Israel's offensive against its arch-rival. The presence of Israeli defence firms at the show has already become a bone of contention, with the French government on Monday sealing off the booths of five Israeli firms on the grounds that they were displaying offensive weapons that could be used in Gaza. "Their wars, their profits, our deaths, stop the genocide in Palestine," read the banner at the head of the march, which organisers claimed drew more than 4,000 protesters. "As we speak, people are dying and our governments are not doing anything to stop it," Nora, 29, told AFP at the protest. Draped in a Palestinian flag, the project leader in the pharmaceutical industry said that she felt "rage" at the footage coming out of Gaza, including that of "mothers kissing their dead children" in the besieged Palestinian territory. Police have arrested seven people aiming to disrupt the trade fair, the Paris public prosecutor office said, with officers discovering a helium canister and nearly 200 balloons during the searches. Six of the arrests were made on Friday and the other on Saturday, the prosecutor's office added. Drawing some 100,000 visitors a day, the Paris Air Show at the Le Bourget airfield, nine kilometres (five miles) to the north of the capital, is usually dominated by displays of the aerospace industry's latest cutting-edge planes. Advertisement But Monday's shuttering of the stands of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Rafael, UVision and Elbit, as well as Aeronautics, which make drones and guided bombs and missiles, sparked a row with Israel. Israel's President Isaac Herzog branded Paris's closure of the Israeli firms' booths "outrageous", comparing it to "creating an Israeli ghetto". It came days after Israel, claiming Iran was on the verge of obtaining a nuclear bomb, launched a surprise barrage on June 13 which killed top Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists. Tehran immediately hit back with a flurry of missiles, with the two countries trading wave after wave of devastating strikes since.

At least three impacts in Israel during Iran missile attacks, 23 hurt
At least three impacts in Israel during Iran missile attacks, 23 hurt

France 24

time3 hours ago

  • France 24

At least three impacts in Israel during Iran missile attacks, 23 hurt

Several buildings were heavily damaged in the Ramat Aviv area in Tel Aviv, with holes torn in the facades of apartment blocks. "Houses here were hit very, very badly," Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai told reporters at the scene. "Fortunately, one of them was slated for demolition and reconstruction, so there were no residents inside. "Those who were in the shelter are all safe and well. The damage is very, very extensive, but in terms of human life, we are okay." The Israeli police said in a statement that they had been deployed to at least two other impact sites, one in Haifa in the north and another in Ness Ziona, south of Tel Aviv. A public square in a residential area of Haifa was left strewn with rubble and surrounding shops and homes have been heavily damaged, AFP photos showed. Eli Bin, the head of Israeli rescue service Magen David Adom, told reporters that a total of 23 people had been wounded nationwide in the attacks, with "two in moderate condition and the rest lightly injured." Two waves of missiles were launched at Israel from around 7:30 am (0430 GMT), the Israeli military said. Sirens rang across the country, with air defences activated shortly afterwards, causing loud explosions heard in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Israeli police reported "the fall of weapon fragments" in a northern area encompassing the port of Haifa, where local authorities said emergency services were heading to an "accident site". Reporting on missile strikes is subject to strict military censorship rules in Israel, but at least 50 impacts have been officially acknowledged nation-wide and 25 people have been killed since the war began with Iran on June 13, according to official figures. Tel Aviv, the southern city of Beersheba and the northern port of Haifa have been the three areas most frequently targeted by Iran.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store