BOGOTA — BOGOTA (AP) — Colombian Sen. Miguel Uribe Turbay, a conservative presidential hopeful, was in critical situation Sunday following surgical procedure for a gunshot wound at a political rally a day earlier, Bogota’s mayor mentioned.
Mayor Carlos Galán visited the Fundación Santa Fe clinic to precise solidarity with the household of the 39-year-old senator.
“He survived the process; these are crucial moments and hours for his survival,” mentioned Galán early Sunday after receiving info from the medical employees on the clinic.
The hospital mentioned Sunday that Uribe Turbay was recovering in intensive care after present process neurosurgery and a process on his left thigh. His situation was described as “extraordinarily critical,” and his prognosis was reserved.
“Miguel continues to combat onerous for his life, and I ask every of you to maintain praying fervently,” Uribe Turbay’s spouse, María Claudia Tarazona, mentioned in an announcement.
Former presidents Álvaro Uribe and César Gaviria visited the clinic, together with senators, metropolis council members and different politicians, together with former senator Ingrid Betancourt.
The assault passed off in a park within the Fontibon neighborhood in Bogota when armed assailants shot him from behind, mentioned the right-wing Democratic Middle, which was the occasion of former president Uribe. The boys will not be associated.
Pictures circulating on social media confirmed an individual firing a number of photographs on the senator from behind, apparently hitting his head earlier than he collapsed.
The Legal professional Common’s Workplace, which is investigating the taking pictures, mentioned the senator acquired two gunshot wounds within the assault, which additionally wounded two others. Their identities and circumstances haven’t been disclosed.
The workplace mentioned a 15-year-old boy was arrested on the scene with a firearm. He was injured within the leg and was recovering at one other clinic, authorities mentioned. Protection Minister Pedro Sánchez added that over 100 officers are investigating who was behind the assault.
Uribe Turbay is the political inheritor of his grandfather, former President Julio César Turbay who was in workplace from 1978-82. His mom, Diana Turbay, was a journalist who was kidnapped and killed in 1991 throughout a failed rescue try. Her loss of life got here throughout one of the crucial violent durations within the historical past of the South American nation, then-plagued by drug cartel violence.
The senator introduced his presidential bid in early March. Colombia will maintain a presidential election on Could 31, 2026, marking the tip of President Gustavo Petro’s time period. Petro, the nation’s first leftist chief, isn’t eligible for reelection.
Exterior the Fundación Santa Fe clinic, dozens of individuals gathered in prayer for Uribe Turbay’s restoration.
Late on Saturday, after main a unprecedented Safety Council session, Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president, promised “full transparency” within the investigation and to seek out out who was behind the assault. He additionally promised an investigation into any failures by the senator’s bodyguards.
The president canceled a deliberate journey to France “as a result of seriousness of the occasions,” in line with a presidential assertion.
“I hope Uribe Turbay survives — that’s what I want greater than something,” Petro mentioned, including that nobody ought to search to politically exploit the assault.
World leaders and senior officers, together with from the US, Chile, Ecuador, and the European Union, condemned the violence and expressed help for the Colombian individuals and Uribe Turbay’s household.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned on X that the “United State condemns within the strongest attainable phrases the tried assassination of Senator Miguel Uribe.” He urged Petro “to dial again the inflammatory rhetoric and shield Colombian officers.”
“It is a direct menace to democracy and the results of the violent leftist rhetoric coming from the very best ranges of the Colombian authorities,” Rubio mentioned.
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Comply with AP’s protection of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
