Published: 10:41, June 8, 2025
Colombian presidential candidate in critical condition after being shot
By Xinhua

Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay (right) reacts after the Senate voted against the government labor reform referendum promoted by Colombia's President Gustavo Petro in Bogota on May 14, 2025. A Colombian right-wing opposition senator and candidate for next year's presidential election, Miguel Uribe Turbay, 39, was shot and wounded in Bogota on June 7, 2025, various media reported, while the government denounced an "attack." (PHOTO / AFP)

BOGOTA - Colombian senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, who is running for the presidency in 2026, was shot and seriously wounded at a campaign rally in Bogota on Saturday, local authorities said.

Uribe Turbay was addressing a group of people when armed assailants shot him from behind, said Democratic Center, the senator's party.

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Images circulating on social media shows Uribe Turbay covered in blood, apparently with a head wound, as several people held him. Local media said he is in serious condition in hospital.

Colombia's Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced the arrest of a suspect in the shooting of the senator, adding that an investigation is underway to determine whether others were involved.