Colombia was looking for more than 100 police investigators on Sunday, the intellectual authors of the fire attack against the presidential candidate Miguel Uribe, who underwent surgery after being seriously injured. During a public event in a popular neighborhood of Bogota on Saturday, the 39 -year -old senator was hit by three shots, according to the paramedics. He was taken to a critical clinic and underwent surgery at dawn.
The mayor of the capital, Carlos Fernando Galán, said that Uribe faces “critical hours” of recovery to ensure his survival. The medical center that served the senator reported in a statement that he “is in the ICU to ensure postoperative stabilization.” “The state is of maximum gravity and the prognosis is reserved,” said the clinic.
A 15 -year -old was arrested as a suspect, but authorities have not yet identified the intellectual authors of the attack. There were no known public threats against Uribe, a vehement critic of the left, the guerrillas, and the drug trafficking groups that operate in the country.
More than 100 police officers participate in investigations to clarify the motivation of the attack on the politician, defense minister Pedro Sánchez announced.
– More than 100 investigators from our National Police were sent, along with the Attorney General’s Office and the entire intelligence community, to find out as soon as possible who is behind these events – said the minister after a meeting with President Gustavo Petro, ministers and senior commanders of the police and the army.
Petro asked on Saturday a thorough investigation to start with Uribe security guards, because “all hypotheses are open.”
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“Instrumentalized”
The teenager accused of shooting the senator was injured in one leg during a shooting with members of the Uribe security team. He is hospitalized and “in good conditions already favorable,” added the defense minister, who considers that the minor was “instrumentalized” by “criminals” to execute the attack.
A video released on social networks shows the moment when a young man, seen from his back, draws a gun. Uribe falls after being apparently hit in the head. Other images show him lying on a vehicle, with a bloody body and supported by a group of men.
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In October last year, Uribe announced his pre-candidacy for the presidency in 2026, in the election that will define the successor of Gustavo Petro, of whom he is one of the greatest opponents. The presidential campaign has not yet begun, but several politicians have started their rallies.
Uribe belongs to the Democratic Center, the main right -wing movement of the country, which has not yet defined its candidate. Manifestations were summoned in some cities, such as Bogota, Medellin and Cali, to repudiate the attack on Uribe.
Several international bodies, such as the UN, and countries in the region and Europe expressed repudiation of the attack. The US State Department, a Colombian allied country in the fight against drug trafficking, attributed the attack to the “violent rhetoric of the left” and asked Petro to “moderate his incendiary speech.” The message, issued by the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, opens a new chapter in the dispute between the United States and Petro government, which called this kind of “opportunist” accusation.
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The president said in a speech that it is a priority to “take care of life” of the alleged shooter to prevent him from being murdered and does not denounce his accomplices.
Uribe, a member of a family of long political tradition, has been a senator since 2022. Before, he has been secretary of government of Bogota and city councilor. He was also a candidate for the city, but lost his election in 2019. His mother, Diana Turbay, was a renowned journalist kidnapped by order of drug trafficker Pablo Escobar. She died during a military rescue operation in 1991.
