On August 11, 2025, Colombia awoke to the devastating news that Senator and presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe Turbay had died, more than two months after surviving a brutal shooting at a campaign rally in Bogotá. His death, at the age of 39, has sent shockwaves through the nation, stirring memories of the country’s darkest political chapters and reigniting anxieties about the safety of those who dare to seek public office.
Uribe’s killing is not just another entry in the country’s long ledger of political violence—it’s a grim reminder that Colombia’s past is never far behind. The senator, a rising star in the right-wing Democratic Center party and a fierce critic of President Gustavo Petro’s leftist administration, was shot three times, twice in the head, while addressing supporters in a working-class Bogotá neighborhood on June 7, 2025. According to Reuters, he was seeking his party’s nomination for the 2026 presidential elections at the time of the attack, which was caught on multiple videos and immediately drew national and international condemnation.
His wife, María Claudia Tarazona, confirmed his death in a heartfelt social media post: "Rest in peace, love of my life. I will take care of our children. I ask God to show me the way to learn to live without you." The couple’s pain is shared by millions of Colombians who, as NPR reported, took to the streets dressed in white and waving Colombian flags to protest the violence that claimed Uribe’s life.
The attack on Uribe was the worst outbreak of political violence in Colombia in two decades, evoking memories of the 1980s and 1990s when drug cartels, led by the likes of Pablo Escobar, declared war on the state and assassinated four presidential candidates. Uribe’s own family history is tragically entwined with this era: his mother, the respected journalist Diana Turbay, was kidnapped and killed by Escobar’s Medellín Cartel in 1991, a trauma that shaped his life and political path. As El País noted, Uribe once reflected, "I could have grown up seeking revenge, but I decided to do the right thing: forgive, but never forget."
Uribe’s ascent in Colombian politics was meteoric. A lawyer with a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University, he became a Bogotá city councilman at just 25 and later served as Secretary of Government. In 2022, he was the top vote-getter for the Democratic Center party, led by former President Álvaro Uribe Vélez (no relation), and quickly became a prominent figure in the opposition. His sharp criticism of President Petro’s policies—especially on issues like oil industry restrictions and labor reform—resonated with a segment of the electorate hungry for change but wary of the left’s growing influence. According to a July 2025 poll by Guarumo-Econoanalítica, Uribe even led presidential voting intentions after the attack, a testament to his growing stature.
The circumstances of the attack remain murky. Authorities arrested a 15-year-old suspect at the scene, who, according to a video verified by Reuters, claimed he had been hired by a local drug dealer. Several others were later detained, and the attorney general’s office believes at least two men met in Medellín to plan the assassination. Yet, as of this writing, the masterminds remain unknown, and the investigation—bolstered by international experts from the United States, Britain, and the United Arab Emirates—continues. The government has offered a 3 billion-peso (about $740,000) reward for information leading to the culprits’ capture.
President Gustavo Petro, who took several hours to respond publicly to the news, eventually offered his condolences and stressed the need for a thorough investigation. "Every time a Colombian is murdered, it is a defeat for Colombia and for life," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter), as cited by Reuters. He insisted that the government’s priority is to protect all citizens, regardless of ideology, and rejected any notion of political persecution. Petro’s government has since moved to strengthen security for all opposition politicians and presidential hopefuls—a move many say is long overdue.
The assassination has left the Democratic Center party, and indeed the entire opposition, at a crossroads. Political analyst Pedro Viveros told El País, "The big dilemma the Democratic Center faces is that it does not have a viable candidate. The viable candidate was Miguel Uribe after the attack. Any future movement will depend on what the Democratic Center decides." The party had planned a poll in October 2025 to select its 2026 candidate, but Uribe’s death has thrown those plans into disarray. Voices such as Uribe’s wife, María Claudia Tarazona, and party leader Álvaro Uribe Vélez—currently under house arrest for a witness-tampering case—are expected to play significant roles in shaping the party’s next steps.
Uribe’s death has also reignited debate over the persistent dangers facing Colombia’s political class. While the country had believed it had moved past the era when presidential candidates were routine targets, the ongoing killings of social leaders and now the assassination of a leading opposition figure reveal how fragile those gains truly are. Allies of Uribe have criticized the government for allegedly ignoring repeated requests to reinforce his security detail, a charge that has only intensified scrutiny on the Petro administration’s handling of political violence.
The international community has not remained silent. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed solidarity with Uribe’s family and the Colombian people, stating, "The United States stands in solidarity with his family, the Colombian people, both in mourning and demanding justice for those responsible." Colombia’s Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez vowed, "We will not allow the violent to intimidate or silence political voices needed in our democracy." The Santa Fe Foundation hospital in Bogotá, where Uribe spent his final weeks, became a focal point for supporters who held regular vigils, clinging to hope for his recovery until his condition worsened due to a hemorrhage in his central nervous system.
Uribe’s legacy is inextricably linked to Colombia’s ongoing struggle with violence and its quest for a stable democracy. As Senator María José Pizarro, herself the daughter of assassinated presidential candidate Carlos Pizarro Leongómez, poignantly stated, "Only with truth and justice will political violence be eradicated, the violence that has ended the life of Miguel Uribe and so many political leaders who had much to contribute to this society."
As Colombia enters another fraught election season, the specter of violence looms large. The challenge for the nation is clear: to guarantee the safety of its leaders and close the chapter on decades of bloodshed. After the death of Miguel Uribe, that challenge feels more urgent—and more elusive—than ever before.
