Colombia Mourns Miguel Uribe After Fatal Campaign Shooting

• Aug 11, 2025

Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe has died, two months after suffering gunshot wounds during a campaign rally in Bogotá. His death was announced early Monday morning by his wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, in a heartfelt message on Instagram.

"You will always be the love of my life. Thank you for a life full of love," Tarazona wrote. She added that she would take care of their children and wished him peace in his final rest.

Uribe, 39, was critically injured on June 7 when he was shot three times—twice in the head—while speaking in a working-class neighborhood of the capital. Authorities have arrested six suspects in connection with the attack, including a 15-year-old alleged to have fired the shots. Investigators believe the plot may have been orchestrated by a dissident faction of the now-defunct FARC guerrilla group.

After undergoing multiple surgeries, Uribe’s condition initially improved, and by mid-July he had begun neurorehabilitation. However, the clinic treating him reported on Saturday that he had suffered a new brain hemorrhage linked to the earlier injuries, sending his condition back into a critical state.

Uribe, a conservative politician and senator from the Democratic Center party, had announced in October 2024 that he would run for president in the May 2026 election to succeed current left-wing President Gustavo Petro. He was not related to former President Álvaro Uribe, despite sharing the same surname.

The assassination attempt and his eventual death have reignited fears of political violence reminiscent of the 1980s and 1990s, when Colombia faced frequent political killings and armed attacks.

Vice President Francia Márquez expressed sorrow at Uribe’s passing, stating on social media platform X: "Violence cannot continue to mark our destiny. Democracy is not built with bullets or blood; it is built with respect and dialogue."

Uribe is survived by his young son and three teenage stepdaughters, whom he raised as his own.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also issued a statement calling for justice. "The United States stands in solidarity with his family, the Colombian people, both in mourning and demanding justice for those responsible," Rubio wrote on X.

Uribe’s death marks a dark moment for Colombian politics, underscoring the ongoing challenges of ensuring safety and stability in the nation’s democratic process.

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