The congressional leader of Colombia’s far-right Democratic Center party was the victim of an assassination attempt in the capital Bogota on Saturday.
Images of the incident showed bystanders holding Uribe, who was apparently shot in the head at a political rally.
The opposition leader, a protégé of former President Alvaro Uribe and the grandson of former President Julio Cesar Turbay, was taken to hospital for treatment.
The alleged assassin was arrested, said Bogota Mayor Carlos Fernando Galan.
Local media showed a video of a suspect who had been detained in the Fontibon district where the assassination attack took place around five in the afternoon. The director of the National Police, General Carlos Fernando Triana, said the detainee is a minor.
At the time of the assassination attempt, Uribe was campaigning to become the Democratic Center’s candidate in the 2026 presidential elections.
President Gustavo Petro rejected the assassination attempt and expressed his solidarity with the family of the Democratic Center’s senate chief.
Colombia should not kill its children, because they are also our children.
President Gustavo Petro
The Democratic Center said in an initial response that the assassination attempt “is an attack on democracy and freedom in Colombia.”
We energetically reject this attack that not only endangers the life of a political leader, but also is an attack on democracy and freedom in Colombia.
Democratic Center
Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez announced a $728 thousand (COP3 billion) reward for information that would lead to the identification and arrest of those behind the assassination attempt.
Sanchez confirmed the arrest of one suspect and said “we are verifying if more people are implicated.
“The investigation will not stop and we will get to the bottom of this,” said the defense minister.
Sanchez said he had ordered “the military and the National Police and the intelligence agencies to deploy all their capabilities to urgently clarify the facts.”
In the next few minutes, we will hold an extraordinary meeting with the military and police leadership to outline the strategy to address this situation.
Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez
The Democratic Center Senate leader has been one of the most vociferous opponents of President Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s first left-wing president in history.
