Monday August 11, 2025
By TheNewsDESK |
Miguel Uribe Turbay, a Colombian senator and presidential hopeful, died Monday, August 11, two months after he was shot at a campaign event in the country’s capital.
Uribe Turbay was a senator from the conservative Centro Democrático Party, which mourned him in a Monday X post. He was 39. The hospital where he was being treated confirmed his death in a statement on Monday.
His wife, María Claudia Tarazona, vowed in a Monday, August 11, Instagram post to take care of their children. “You will always be the love of my life,” she wrote. “I pray that God will show me the way to learn to live without you.”
Uribe Turbay was shot on June 7 at a campaign rally in the Fontibón neighborhood of Bogotá and later admitted in critical condition to the Santa Fe Foundation hospital. He had been in intensive care since then, and doctors said at the time that his condition was “extremely serious.”
After the shooting, authorities arrested a 15-year-old carrying a 9mm Glock pistol, according to the attorney general’s office. Uribe Turbay sustained two gunshot wounds, the office said. Two other people were also injured. A motive for the shooting was not yet known.
The incident shone a spotlight on political violence in Colombia ahead of presidential elections that will take place in May 2026. Uribe Turbay, the grandson of former president Julio César Turbay Ayala, had launched an early campaign as a “pre-candidate” for the election. He was an ally of ironfisted former president Álvaro Uribe, but the two were not related.
Uribe Turbay was the son of journalist Diana Turbay, who was killed in a rescue operation after she had been kidnapped by members of drug lord Pablo Escobar’s Medellín cartel.
Hours before he was shot, Uribe Turbay recounted his mother’s killing at a public event, according to Colombian news outlet La Silla Vacía. Showing a photo of himself and his mother, he said his mother’s assassination had marked his life and inspired his mission to end violence in Colombia.
In a statement on Monday, August 11, Centro Democrático praised Uribe Turbay’s fight against political violence and said its thoughts were with his loved ones. “His struggle for life was a test for us, and his passing leaves a void impossible to fill,” the party said. “Miguel will live forever in our hearts, and his example will continue to guide us.”
