Shot Colombian presidential hopeful fighting for life

Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe, a potential presidential contender, is in a critical condition after being shot at a campaign rally in Bogota.

The 39-year-old senator, who was shot during a campaign event as part of his run for the presidency in 2026, is a member of the opposition conservative Democratic Center party founded by former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. The two men are not related.

According to a party statement condemning the attack, the senator was hosting a campaign event in a public park in the Fontibon neighbourhood in the capital on Saturday when "armed subjects shot him from behind".

The party described the attack as serious, but did not disclose further details on Uribe's condition.

However, his wife Maria Claudia Tarazona wrote on Uribe's account on X that her husband was "fighting for his life".

"Miguel is currently fighting for his life. Let us ask God to guide the hands of the doctors who are treating him. I ask everyone to join us in a chain of prayer for Miguel's life," she wrote.

Colombia's Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez said a suspect had been arrested and authorities were investigating whether others were involved.

Colombia's presidency issued a statement saying the government "categorically and forcefully" rejected the violent attack, and called for a thorough investigation into the events that took place.

Leftist President Gustavo Petro sympathised with the senator's family in a message on X saying, "I don't know how to ease your pain. It is the pain of a mother lost, and of a homeland".

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US "condemns in the strongest possible terms the attempted assassination" of Uribe, blaming Petro's "inflammatory rhetoric" for the violence.

Uribe, who is not yet an official presidential candidate for his party, is from a prominent family in Colombia.

His father was a businessman and union leader. His mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was kidnapped in 1990 by an armed group under the command of the late cartel leader Pablo Escobar. She was killed during a rescue operation in 1991.

Colombia has for decades been embroiled in a conflict between leftist rebels, criminal groups descended from right-wing paramilitaries, and the government.