Colombia presidential hopeful 'critical' after shooting
Uribe, a 39-year-old conservative senator, was shot twice in the head and once in the leg by a 15-year-old suspected hitman while giving a speech on June 7.
He has been in hospital since the attack fighting for his life.
After an emergency operation to stop internal bleeding early on Monday, doctors said his condition had worsened.
"He is out of surgery and his condition is extremely critical," said medic Adolfo Llinas Volpe.
He was said to be suffering from "persistent cerebral edema and intercerebral bleeding that is difficult to control."
Uribe's wife Maria Claudia Tarazona called for Colombians to join in prayer for her husband.
"I have to tell you that he is fighting the most difficult battle we have had to date" she said outside the hospital.
"Today is crucial, and we need all your prayers, your pleas, your words of love."
Uribe, a member of the Democratic Center party of former right-wing president Alvaro Uribe (no relation), announced his intention to run in the May 2026 presidential election last October.
His shooting has kindled fears that Colombia may return to the violence of the 1980s and 1990s, when political assassinations and bombings were commonplace.
He 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.
On Sunday thousands of Colombians marched in major cities to voice their anger at the attack and demand peace.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
4 days ago
- France 24
Colombia presidential hopeful 'critical' after shooting
Uribe, a 39-year-old conservative senator, was shot twice in the head and once in the leg by a 15-year-old suspected hitman while giving a speech on June 7. He has been in hospital since the attack fighting for his life. After an emergency operation to stop internal bleeding early on Monday, doctors said his condition had worsened. "He is out of surgery and his condition is extremely critical," said medic Adolfo Llinas Volpe. He was said to be suffering from "persistent cerebral edema and intercerebral bleeding that is difficult to control." Uribe's wife Maria Claudia Tarazona called for Colombians to join in prayer for her husband. "I have to tell you that he is fighting the most difficult battle we have had to date" she said outside the hospital. "Today is crucial, and we need all your prayers, your pleas, your words of love." Uribe, a member of the Democratic Center party of former right-wing president Alvaro Uribe (no relation), announced his intention to run in the May 2026 presidential election last October. His shooting has kindled fears that Colombia may return to the violence of the 1980s and 1990s, when political assassinations and bombings were commonplace. He 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. On Sunday thousands of Colombians marched in major cities to voice their anger at the attack and demand peace.
France 24
6 days ago
- France 24
Woman arrested over alleged links to Colombia presidential candidate shooting
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.
France 24
6 days ago
- France 24
Protests against hardline immigration tactics spread across the US
02:05 11/06/2025 'Trump misusing the law: The 1st Amendment guarantees the right to protest as a form of free speech' Americas 11/06/2025 LA protests: 'Courts will 'very carefully scrutinise' Trump's deployment of Nat'l Guard, Marines Americas 10/06/2025 Brazil's Bolsonaro rejects charges in coup trial Americas 10/06/2025 'Naive attempt at total peace: Colombians pin blame on Petro's feckless policies on security, peace' Americas 10/06/2025 California governor asks court to block Trump administration from using troops in immigration raids Americas 10/06/2025 LA Protests: 'Purposeful for Trump to portray this as chaos on the streets of a Democratic city' Americas 09/06/2025 Dozens held after Trump-ordered immigration raids in Los Angeles Americas 09/06/2025 LA immigration raid protests intensify after Trump deploys National Guard Americas 09/06/2025 Trump's travel ban: Citizens from 12 countries barred entry to US Americas
