In brief
A 15-year-old boy has been sentenced to seven years in juvenile detention for shooting Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay at a rally in Bogotá. After undergoing multiple surgeries, the senator succumbed to his injuries. The case has drawn attention due to its implications on political violence in Colombia, recalling the turbulent history of assassinations faced by politicians in the 1980s and 90s.
A 15-year-old boy has been sentenced to seven years in juvenile detention for shooting Colombian presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe Turbay at a rally in Bogotá in June. The conservative senator, who was 39, underwent multiple surgeries after being hit by three bullets but died on 11 August. The teenager was charged with attempted murder and the illegal possession of firearms. After years of growing peace, the shooting shocked Colombians, who still remembered the political violence of the 1980s and 90s when several presidential candidates and influential Colombian figures were assassinated.Five others have been arrested and charged in relation to the attack, including suspected criminal Élder José Arteaga Hernández. Police say they believe a dissident group of the former left-wing Farc rebels was behind the assassination.Uribe was shot in the head at a campaign rally on 7 June, with unverified video of the assassination widely circulated online. Local media reports suggest that after the teenager was arrested, he cried out: I did it for money for my family. The senator was a popular member of the right-wing Democratic Centre party and had been seeking his party's nomination for the 2026 presidential election. His father, Miguel Uribe Londoño, announced his own presidential campaign earlier this week, claiming it was an effort to keep his son's legacy alive. Uribe Londoño was a member of Bogotá's city council in the late 80s and a senator for Colombia's Conservative Party in the early 90s. During that time, several presidential candidates and influential figures were killed, including Uribe's mother, journalist Diana Turbay, who was kidnapped by drug lords in 1990.
