Latest news with #Modelia
Daily Mail
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Teenage assassin sparks more conspiracy theories as he reveals how much he was paid to target Colombian political candidate
The 15-year-old boy under arrest for shooting Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay told investigators that he was hired by a network of assassins. Juan Sebastían Rodríguez Casallas said that he was offered 20 million pesos, around $4,800, to assassinate the 39-year-old senator, City TV reported Wednesday. The troubled teenager also told investigators that he was promised that the money would be transferred after taking out Uribe Turbay, the TV news show Noticias Caracol revealed Wednesday. A video filmed by Venezuelan migrant and English teacher Héctor Montero showed Rodríguez Casallas standing several feet behind the conservative presidential hopeful while addressing a crowd of about 250 supporters at a rally on Saturday when he shot him twice in the head and once in the leg. The Attorney General's Office charged the teenager with attempted murder and illegal possession of a firearm during a hearing Tuesday. Rodríguez Casallas, who is hospitalized and recovering from leg wounds, pleaded not guilty to both charges. Uribe Turbay underwent emergency surgery at Santa Fé Foundation hospital, where he remains in critical condition. Noticias Caracol also revealed Wednesday never-before-seen surveillance footage that showed Rodríguez Casallas stepping off the backseat of a motorcycle at 3:22 pm in the Bogotá neighborhood of Modelia, just blocks away from the park where Uribe Turbay would later meet with supporters. The teen shooter removed his helmet and placed a red cap before a man, who was riding the bike, got off and removed his helmet. They had a brief conversation before Rodríguez Casallas placed a call with his cell phone. A security camera caught a silver vehicle parking on the side of a street on Ferrocarril Avenue at 3:41 pm. The boy would be spotted five minutes later walking around a corner and approaching the car. He spoke to the driver for a while and then walked away as he carried out a conversation on his phone as the car pulled away. A separate camera picked up the silver car stationed five blocks away from El Golfito Park, where Uribe Turbay was holding the rally, at 5:20 pm. Two minutes elapsed when Rodríguez Casallas stepped out of the driver's seat of the vehicle. A short while later, a bearded man wearing a white shirt and black sunglasses to conceal his identity got off the rear door while a young woman wearing a black jacket and carrying a black handbag stepped off on the opposite side. Surveillance footage later showed Rodríguez Casallas speed walking down a sidewalk as the man and the woman followed him, but kept their distance. A woman appeared surprised at the pace at which the teenager was walking and stopped to look back as held her pet dog by the leash. Rodríguez Casallas arrived at the park at 5:26 pm and made his way through the crowd shortly before he aimed his weapon and fired at Uribe Turbay. The teen fled the park through a southern exit and ran down a residential block, where he was shot on one of his legs and apprehended at 5:30 pm. 'I did it for money, for my family,' Rodríguez Casallas cried to the arresting officers. 'Sorry, I did it for money, for my family.' Colombian President Gustavo Petro claimed on Monday that Uribe Turbay's security team was 'reduced' before the assassination attempt. 'For my part, I must now report that Senator Uribe's protection detail was strangely reduced on the day of the attack. From 7 to 3 people,' Petro wrote on X. He also bizarrely claimed to be the subject of bounty plot against him. 'I know my head already has a price and is being handed over to dark, neo-Nazi, and non-republican forces, both domestic and foreign,' he wrote in the same post. 'They even went so far as to demand that the Mossad perform an extraction operation. Authorities have not said how Rodríguez Casallas was able to acquire the 9mm Glock that he used in the assassination attempt. National Police director, General Carlos Triana, said during a press conference Monday that the gun was legally acquired by in Mesa, Arizona on August 6, 2020. A law enforcement source told El Tiempo newspaper that Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was able to identify the buyer as Charles Joe Anderson. AJI Sporting Goods owner Jeff Serdy told the Daily Mail on Monday that he had not been contacted by officials from Colombia or the US. He explained that his shop brokered the gun's transfer from a dealer to his store, as buyers cannot purchase directly from a dealer and then have firearms delivered to their homes. Serdy said his shop received a $30 processing fee for the transfer, but did not sell the gun to Anderson. He only picked it up there. 'For the record all state and federal laws were very strictly followed during this transaction,' he said, adding that a background check was conducted. Senator Uribe Turbay is the son of a journalist Diana Turbay, who was kidnapped and killed in 1991 during one of the country's most violent periods. His maternal grandfather, Julio César Turbay, was president of Colombia from 1978 to 1982. Colombia will hold a presidential election on May 31, 2026, the end of the current term of Petro, the first leftist to come to power in Colombia. Uribe Turbay announced his presidential bid in March.
CTV News
10-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Colombian authorities charge 15-year-old with attempted murder of presidential candidate
A billboard with an image of Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, who was shot and wounded at a political rally, reads in Spanish: "Strength and prayer for your speedy recovery" in Bogota, Colombia, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia) BOGOTA — Colombian authorities on Tuesday charged a 15-year-old with attempted murder for the assassination attempt on Miguel Uribe, the conservative presidential candidate who was shot in the head this weekend and is now in critical condition. The Attorney General's office said the teenager shot at Uribe during a rally in Bogota's Modelia neighbourhood and was captured fleeing the scene with a gun. The teenager, whose name has not been released, pleaded not guilty to the charges. He is currently recovering in a hospital from leg wounds. Colombia's defence minister said on Tuesday that authorities are still investigating who may have been behind the attack on Uribe, a 39-year-old senator and one of the nation's most visible opposition figures. Armed groups in Colombia frequently recruit minors for assassinations and other crimes, a practice driven by the lenient penalties they face under Colombian law. The teenager charged with attempted murder on Tuesday faces up to eight years in detention. A judge has ordered his detention at a juvenile center once he leaves hospital. The attack on Uribe has been widely condemned in Colombia, where many voters are concerned about the country's deteriorating security situation. Uribe, whose maternal grandfather was a Colombian president, is the son of Diana Turbay, a prominent news anchor who was assassinated in 1991 after being kidnapped by the powerful Medellin Cartel. Colombian opposition parties have asked for greater security guarantees in the wake of the attack, with some also urging President Gustavo Petro to moderate his rhetoric, as the nation prepares for presidential elections next year. While Petro condemned the attack on Uribe, he often refers to opposition leaders in his speeches and social media posts as 'Nazis' 'oligarchs' and 'enemies of the people.' On Tuesday, Uribe's wife María Claudia Tarazona addressed journalists outside the hospital where the senator is being treated, calling for unity and calm. 'I call on every sector, on all the political groups, on armed groups and on every corner of this country to heal,' she said, adding that Uribe 'is a warrior who is fighting for his life.' Manuel Rueda, The Associated Press
Washington Post
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Colombian authorities charge 15-year-old with attempted murder of presidential candidate
BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombian authorities on Tuesday charged a 15-year-old with attempted murder for the assasination attempt on Miguel Uribe , the conservative presidential candidate who was shot in the head this weekend and is now in critical condition. The Attorney General's office said the teenager shot at Uribe during a rally in Bogota's Modelia neighborhood and was captured fleeing the scene with a gun. The teenager, whose name has not been released, pleaded not guilty to the charges. He is currently recovering in a hospital from leg wounds.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Colombian authorities charge 15-year-old with attempted murder of presidential candidate
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian authorities on Tuesday charged a 15-year-old with attempted murder for the assasination attempt on Miguel Uribe, the conservative presidential candidate who was shot in the head this weekend and is now in critical condition. The Attorney General's office said the teenager shot at Uribe during a rally in Bogota's Modelia neighborhood and was captured fleeing the scene with a gun. The teenager, whose name has not been released, pleaded not guilty to the charges. He is currently recovering in a hospital from leg wounds. Colombia's Defense Minister said on Tuesday that authorities are still investigating who may have been behind the attack on Uribe, a 39-year-old senator and one of the nation's most visible opposition figures. Armed groups in Colombia frequently recruit minors for assassinations and other crimes, a practice driven by the lenient penalties they face under Colombian law. The teenager charged with attempted murder on Tuesday faces up to eight years in detention. A judge has ordered his detention at a juvenile center once he leaves hospital. The attack on Uribe has been widely condemned in Colombia, where many voters are concerned about the country's deteriorating security situation. Uribe, whose maternal grandfather was a Colombian president, is the son of Diana Turbay, a prominent news anchor who was assassinated in 1991 after being kidnapped by the powerful Medellin Cartel. Colombian opposition parties have asked for greater security guarantees in the wake of the attack, with some also urging President Gustavo Petro to moderate his rhetoric, as the nation prepares for presidential elections next year. While Petro condemned the attack on Uribe, he often refers to opposition leaders in his speeches and social media posts as 'Nazis' 'oligarchs' and 'enemies of the people.' On Tuesday, Uribe's wife María Claudia Tarazona addressed journalists outside the hospital where the senator is being treated, calling for unity and calm. 'I call on every sector, on all the political groups, on armed groups and on every corner of this country to heal,' she said, adding that Uribe 'is a warrior who is fighting for his life.' ____ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at Manuel Rueda, The Associated Press
CTV News
09-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Colombian presidential candidate in critical condition following assassination attempt
Images of Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, along with candles and flowers, lay at the site where he was shot during a political rally in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP Photo/John Vizcaino) BOGOTA, Colombia — Miguel Uribe, a conservative Colombian presidential hopeful, was in critical condition on Monday after being shot in the head from close range during a rally over the weekend. In a statement, doctors said the 39-year-old senator had 'barely' responded to medical interventions that included brain surgery following the assassination attempt that has had a chilling effect on the South American nation. Uribe was shot on Saturday as he addressed a small crowd of people who had gathered in a park in Bogota's Modelia neighborhood. On Sunday hundreds of people gathered outside the hospital where Uribe is being treated to pray for his recovery. Some carried rosaries in their hands, while others chanted slogans against President Gustavo Petro. 'This is terrible,' said Walter Jimenez, a lawyer who showed up outside the hospital with a sign calling for Petro's removal. 'It feels like we are going back to the 1990's,' he said, referring to a decade during which drug cartels and rebel groups murdered judges, presidential candidates and journalists with impunity. Petro has condemned the attack and urged his opponents to not use it for political ends. But some Colombians have also asked the president to tone down his rhetoric against opposition leaders. The assassination attempt stunned the nation, with many politicians describing it as the latest sign of how security has deteriorated in Colombia, where the government is struggling to control violence in rural and urban areas, despite a 2016 peace deal with the nation's largest rebel group. The attack on Uribe comes amid growing animosity between Petro and the Senate over blocked reforms to the nation's labor laws. Petro has organized protests in favor of the reforms, where he has delivered fiery speeches referring to opposition leaders as 'oligarchs' and 'enemies of the people.' 'There is no way to argue that the president … who describes his opponents as enemies of the people, paramilitaries and assassins has no responsibility in this,' Andres Mejia, a prominent political analyst, wrote on X. The Attorney General's office said a 15-year-old boy was arrested at the scene of the attack against Uribe. Videos captured on social media show a suspect shooting at Uribe from close range. The suspect was injured in the leg and was recovering at another clinic, authorities said. Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez added that over 100 officers are investigating the attack. On Monday, Colombia's Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo said that minors in Colombia face sentences of up to eight years in detention for committing murders. Camargo acknowledged that lenient sentences have encouraged armed groups to recruit minors to commit crimes. However, she said that Colombian law also considers that minors who are recruited by armed groups are victims, and is trying to protect them. 'As a society we need to reflect on why a minor is getting caught up in a network of assassins, and what we can do to stop this from happening in the future,' she said. Camargo said officials had not identified any death threats against Uribe prior to Saturday's assassination attempt. But on Monday, Uribe's lawyer said he has sued the director of the National Protection Unit, a government agency that assigns security guards and bullet proof vehicles to politicians and human rights leaders. Uribe launched his presidential campaign in October. His lawyer, Victor Mosquera, said the National Protection Unit ignored multiple requests by Uribe to have his security detail expanded as he campaigned. 'His security detail had to be improved,' Mosquera said in a press conference. 'We have to investigate whether the attack (on Uribe) was a consequence of negligence.' In a message on X on Monday, Petro wrote that Uribe's security detail was 'strangely' reduced from seven to three bodyguards on the day of the assassination attempt, and said he asked police to investigate. Petro said there are still many theories about the motive for the attack. Article by Manuel Rueda.
