The security detail for the Colombian presidential candidate who was shot at a campaign rally at the weekend was severely reduced on the day of the attack, the country’s president has said.
Miguel Uribe Turbay, 39, was shot twice in the head at close range by an alleged 15-year-old hitman while campaigning in Bogotá on Saturday. He has reportedly shown little response to medical interventions and, according to his wife, needs “a miracle” to survive.
On Monday, President Gustavo Petro called for an investigation into the sudden reduction of the security team, posting on social media: “I must now report that the protection scheme for Senator Uribe was reduced, strangely, on the day of the attack, from seven to three people.”
Uribe’s lawyer Victor Mosquera said he had filed a criminal complaint against the protection unit in charge of security for high-profile and at-risk personalities, alleging that he had made more than 20 requests for increased security this year alone.
Uribe, a 39-year-old senator from the opposition Centro Democrático party, is running to join next year’s presidential race. Footage from the attack showed him speaking to a small crowd in a park, before shots rang out. Uribe was then pictured slumped against the bonnet of a blood-stained white car.
Uribe underwent major surgery over the weekend, which was initially deemed a success, but early on Monday the hospital said he had shown “little response to the medical interventions”.
“His condition is extremely serious,” medical director Adolfo Llinás Volpe said.
His wife, María Claudia Tarazona, asked for prayers on Monday morning and said “Miguel needs a miracle”.
The 15-year-old suspect was arrested at the scene minutes after the attack, during which he reportedly shouted: “I did it for money for my family.”
Police on Monday revealed that the 9mm pistol the suspect was carrying had been purchased legally in Arizona in 2020.
The suspect was also injured during the attack and so has yet to be questioned; a security cordon has been set up around the hospital where he is undergoing treatment. He is expected to be charged with attempted murder and illegal possession of a weapon.
Uribe hails from one of Colombia’s most prominent political families; he is the grandson of former president Julio César Turbay Ayala (1978-82) and the son of journalist Diana Turbay, who was kidnapped by Pablo Escobar’s Medellín cartel and killed during a botched rescue operation in 1991.
A Harvard graduate, former Bogotá city councillor and outspoken critic of president Gustavo Petro, Uribe last year announced his presidential bid from the spot where his mother was killed. “I could have grown up seeking revenge, but I decided to do the right thing: forgive, but never forget,” he said.
Petro condemned Saturday’s attack and said “we cannot rule out any hypothesis”. Criminal groups in Colombia have often used minors to carry out killings.
Colombia’s defence minister has offered a 3bn peso (£540,000) reward for information leading to the identification and capture of those responsible for the attack, while the government has ordered increased security for all presidential candidates.
