In brief
A 15-year-old boy was sentenced to seven years in juvenile detention for shooting Colombian senator Miguel Uribe Turbay during a rally in Bogotá. The politician, who died from injuries sustained in the attack, was a leading figure in the Democratic Centre party and a presidential candidate for 2026. The incident highlights ongoing political violence in Colombia, reminiscent of earlier decades.
A 15-year-old boy has been sentenced to seven years in juvenile detention for shooting Colombian presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe Turbay at a rally in Bogotá in June. The conservative senator, who was 39, underwent multiple surgeries after being hit by three bullets but died on 11 August.
The teenager was charged with attempted murder and the illegal possession of firearms. After years of growing peace, the shooting shocked Colombians, who still remembered the political violence of the 1980s and 90s when several presidential candidates and influential Colombian figures were assassinated.
Five others have been arrested and charged in relation to the attack, including suspected criminal Élder José Arteaga Hernández. Police say they believe a dissident group of the former left-wing Farc rebels was behind the assassination.
Uribe was shot in the head at a campaign rally on 7 June, with unverified video of the assassination widely circulated online. Local media reports suggest that after the teenager was arrested, he cried out: I did it for money for my family.
The senator was a popular member of the right-wing Democratic Centre party, and had been seeking his party's nomination for the 2026 presidential election.
His father, Miguel Uribe Londoño, announced his own presidential campaign earlier this week, in what he said was an effort to keep his son's legacy alive. During the late 80s and early 90s, Uribe Londoño served as a member of Bogotá's city council and a senator for Colombia's Conservative Party. Several presidential candidates and influential Colombian figures were killed during that time period, including Uribe's own mother, journalist Diana Turbay, who was kidnapped by Los Extraditables in 1990 and was killed during a botched rescue attempt.
Uribe often cited her as his inspiration to run for political office to work for our country.
