Colombia’s Senator Miguel Uribe undergoes surgery after shooting attack

Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe, a potential candidate in next year’s presidential election, has successfully undergone an initial surgery after being shot and wounded in the capital, Bogota, according to its mayor.

The 39-year-old “overcame the first surgical intervention” and has entered “the critical hours” of recovery, Mayor Carlos Fernando Galan told journalists on Sunday.Uribe was shot on Saturday during a campaign event as part of his run for the presidency in 2026. After being flown to hospital, his wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, said on X that he was “fighting for his life”.

Uribe is a member of the opposition conservative Democratic Centre party, founded by former President Alvaro Uribe. The two men are not related.

‘Unacceptable’ violence
The party released a statement calling the shooting “an unacceptable act of violence”.

It said the senator was appearing at a campaign event in a public park in the Fontibon neighbourhood in Bogota when “armed subjects” shot him from behind.It described the attack as serious but did not disclose further details on Uribe’s condition.

A medical report from the Santa Fe Foundation hospital said the senator was admitted in critical condition and was due to undergo a “neurosurgical and peripheral vascular procedure”.

Videos on social media showed a man identified as Uribe being tended to after the shooting. He appeared to be bleeding from his head.

The Attorney General’s Office, which is investigating the shooting, said the senator received two gunshot wounds in the attack, which wounded two others. The statement from the office said a 15-year-old boy was arrested at the scene with a firearm.