Miguel Uribe: Colombian presidential candidate dies aged 39 after Bogotá shooting
Colombian senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay has died from gunshot wounds sustained during a campaign event in Bogotá on June 7.
The 39-year-old, the son of slain journalist Diana Turbay and grandson of former president Julio César Turbay Ayala, died at 1.56am local time on Monday at the Santa Fe Foundation clinic, where he had been hospitalised in critical condition since the attack. The clinic said: “The team in charge of Mr. Uribe Turbay's care across all areas of the institution worked tirelessly during these more than two months since his admission with serious injuries.”
Tributes flooded social media, including from his wife, María Claudia Tarazona, who wrote on Instagram: “You will always be the love of my life. Thank you for a life full of love, thank you for being a father to the girls, the best father to Alejandro. I ask God to show me the way to learn to live without you. Our love transcends this physical plane. Wait for me, because when I fulfil my promise to our children, I will come find you and we will have our second chance. Rest in peace, love of my life, I will take care of our children.”
His sister, María Carolina Hoyos Turbay, also posted a tribute alongside a childhood photo: “Miguel Guerrero, this was God's will. I find no explanations, but I have no choice but to accept this new pain with faith. I am sure that our mother, who loved you so much, is welcoming you today with open arms. With a broken heart, but holding on to my faith, I dare to tell you that I never imagined this… I thought you would say goodbye to me, it would have been logical. Fly high, Miguel of my heart, and rest in peace.”
Uribe Turbay, a lawyer from the University of Los Andes with a master's in Public Administration from Harvard, began his political career at 25, serving on Bogotá’s city council before becoming a prominent opposition senator to President Gustavo Petro. He is survived by his wife, three stepdaughters, and a four-year-old son.
Authorities have arrested a 14-year-old suspect and two others in connection with the shooting. President Gustavo Petro said no line of investigation is being ruled out. The attack has drawn comparisons to political assassinations that rocked Colombia in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Former president Álvaro Uribe Vélez said: “Evil destroys everything, they killed hope.” Former president Iván Duque added: “Colombia weeps, but will not surrender to the criminals who snuffed out the life of an admirable young man.”
US Senator Marco Rubio said he was “deeply saddened” by the “tragic death,” adding: “The United States stands in solidarity with his family and the Colombian people, both in their mourning and in demanding justice for those responsible.”