Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe dies months after Bogota shooting
3 Min Read
A former Bogota city councilor and party leader, Uribe was seen as a potential presidential contender before the June shooting.
-
Dr. Henry Gallardo announces the death of opposition Sen. Miguel Uribe at the clinic where he had been hospitalized for more than two months after being shot during a campaign rally in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, August 11, 2025. (AP)
Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe has died, months after being critically wounded in a shooting at a campaign event, his family announced Monday. The 39-year-old legislator had been hospitalized since June, when he was shot in the head during a political rally in Bogota.
Uribe, a prominent right-wing opposition figure and considered a potential presidential contender, was attacked on June 7 while addressing supporters. Despite undergoing several surgeries in the weeks that followed, he never regained consciousness.
"I ask God to show me the way to learn to live without you," his wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, wrote in a social media tribute. "Rest in peace, love of my life, I will take care of our children."
His death marks another tragic episode in a family long shaped by Colombia’s turbulent political and violent history. Uribe’s mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was killed in 1991 during a botched rescue operation after being kidnapped by Pablo Escobar’s Medellín Cartel.
Wider context
Rising swiftly through the ranks of the Democratic Center party, Uribe became a high-profile lawmaker and an outspoken critic of leftist President Gustavo Petro.
At just 25, he secured a seat on Bogota’s city council, where he often clashed with Petro, then the city’s mayor, over waste management, public spending, and social programs.
In the 2022 legislative elections, Uribe led his party’s Senate list under the slogan “Colombia First,” solidifying his role as a key voice in the opposition.
Political heritage ran deep in his lineage: his maternal grandfather, Julio Cesar Turbay, served as Colombia’s president from 1978 to 1982, while his paternal grandfather, Rodrigo Uribe Echavarría, headed the Liberal Party and played a pivotal role in Virgilio Barco’s 1986 presidential victory.
Colombia arrests alleged mastermind behind Uribe assassination plot
Back in June, Colombian authorities arrested the alleged architect of the June 7 assassination attempt on Miguel Uribe, a prominent right-wing presidential candidate and senator.
The suspect, identified as Elder Jose Arteaga Hernandez, was taken into custody on Saturday and is accused of organizing and funding the attack that left Uribe critically wounded.
Described by authorities as the "brains behind the operation," Arteaga Hernandez allegedly oversaw all aspects of the attempted killing, from planning to execution and post-attack logistics. Police Chief Carlos Fernando Triana Beltran told reporters that the suspect was responsible for “the before of the attack, the during, and the after,” suggesting a highly coordinated plot.
At the time, the arrest raised the total number of suspects in custody to five, including the 15-year-old alleged gunman, who is believed to have been hired by Arteaga Hernandez.
According to Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez, the plot was financially motivated, with Arteaga Hernandez allegedly negotiating a $250,000 fee for the execution of the attack. Sanchez said in a post on X that the suspect had meticulously "planned the cover, the movements, and even ordered one of his accomplices to be silenced" to obstruct investigations after the shooting.
Arteaga Hernandez reportedly has a long criminal record and is listed in Interpol’s international database. Authorities believe he is tied to a broader network of professional hitmen and played a central role in weapon procurement, target surveillance, and operational coordination.
