Imagine delivering a passionate campaign speech, only to be gunned down in broad daylight by a child barely old enough to drive.
That’s the horrifying reality for Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, a conservative firebrand and presidential hopeful, who was shot in the head during a public event in Bogotá on Saturday, leaving him clinging to life as authorities scramble to uncover the chilling truth behind this attack.
Breitbart reported that during a routine campaign stop in a Bogotá neighborhood, Uribe, a 39-year-old senator with the Democratic Centre party, was ambushed by a 14-year-old boy who fired three shots, striking Uribe twice in the skull and once in the leg.
The chaos didn’t stop there—reports confirm the young attacker and at least two others were injured in the melee that followed.
Rushed to a nearby hospital before being airlifted to Fundación Santa Fe in Bogotá for emergency surgery, Uribe’s condition remains dire, with doctors admitting little progress despite their best efforts.
As of Monday morning, Uribe is still in critical condition, showing scant response to medical interventions, per a somber statement from the hospital authorized by his family.
“We remain committed to making every effort necessary to improve his condition,” the doctors at Fundación Santa Fe declared, before adding grimly that “the prognosis remains reserved.” Hardly a beacon of hope, but a stark reminder of the fragility of life when politics turns deadly.
Uribe’s wife, María Claudia Tarazona, poured her heart out on Instagram, saying, “Miguel needs a miracle.” Her words cut deep, revealing a family shattered yet holding onto faith amidst unimaginable pain.
Adding to the heartbreak, Uribe’s past is steeped in tragedy—his mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was kidnapped by notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar and killed during a rescue attempt in 1991, a brutal echo of violence now haunting her son.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio didn’t mince words, condemning the attack “in the strongest possible terms” and calling it a direct threat to democracy, fueled by what he sees as dangerous leftist rhetoric from Colombia’s current administration. It’s a sharp jab at President Gustavo Petro’s government, suggesting that words can indeed beget bullets.
Petro himself responded on social media with flowery condolences, stating, “Colombia welcomes the world, and doesn’t kill those who come from all corners of the planet.”
Nice sentiment, but when a senator is shot in the capital, it’s hard not to question if the state has failed its duty, as Petro himself admitted during a televised security meeting.
Meanwhile, the investigation into this assassination attempt is already raising eyebrows, with judicial sources reporting that the minor suspect’s cell phone has mysteriously “disappeared” after his arrest, potentially losing critical evidence.
At the time of his capture, the young attacker was heard shouting about needing to provide “numbers,” though what that means remains a frustrating puzzle.
If that device held the key to uncovering a mastermind, as Petro suggested there might be, its absence is a bitter pill for justice.