Colombian presidential contender Miguel Uribe remains in critical condition after being shot in the head at close range during a campaign rally in Bogota over the weekend.
Doctors treating the 39-year-old conservative senator said he had "barely" responded to medical interventions, including brain surgery, following the attempted assassination, which renewed concerns over political violence in the South American country.
Uribe was shot on Saturday while speaking to a small gathering in Bogota’s Modelia district. Footage circulating on social media — which Euronews could not independently verify — shows a gunman opening fire at Uribe from close range.
Colombian authorities later said a 15-year-old boy was arrested at the scene of the attack. He had suffered an injury to the leg and was recovering at a separate clinic.
Colombia's Defence Minister Pedro Sánchez said more than 100 officers are involved in the investigation.
Outside the hospital on Sunday, hundreds of supporters assembled to pray for Uribe’s recovery. Many held rosaries, while others voiced anger toward President Gustavo Petro, accusing him of fuelling political divisions.
Petro denounced the attack and urged his opponents to refrain from politicising the incident. Yet the president has frequently labelled political rivals as "oligarchs” and "enemies of the people" during recent pro-reform rallies.
"There is no way to argue that the president … who describes his opponents as enemies of the people, paramilitaries and assassins, has no responsibility in this," political analyst Andrés Mejía posted on X.
On Monday, the Colombian Senate announced it would suspend sessions indefinitely in solidarity with Uribe.
Meanwhile, nine opposition parties issued a joint statement on Monday vowing to approach international institutions to ensure "conditions of equality" they say have been denied by the current government.
They also urged Colombia’s Inspector General to create a special commission to safeguard transparency and electoral security.
Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo said that while there had been no prior threats against Uribe, his legal team had previously requested an upgrade to his security, which they claim was ignored.
His lawyer, Víctor Mosquera, has accused the National Protection Unit of negligence, stating: "His security detail had to be improved. We have to investigate whether the attack was a consequence of negligence."
Petro wrote on X on Monday that Uribe’s security escort had been "strangely" reduced from seven to three bodyguards on the day of the attack, and said that he had requested a police inquiry.
