A conservative Colombian senator, presidential hopeful and grandson of a former president was shot from behind at a campaign event on Saturday in the capital, Bogotá, according to his party.
The shooting of the senator, Miguel Uribe Turbay, 39, by unknown perpetrators comes amid escalating political tension in the country as the country’s leftist president, Gustavo Petro, tries to introduce changes to labor regulations that Mr. Uribe and other conservatives oppose.
Conflict between armed groups also continues to plague the country, though it has taken place mostly in the countryside.
Mr. Uribe’s condition and a motive for the shooting were not immediately clear.
In a statement, his party, the Democratic Center, called the event “an unacceptable act of violence.”
“We energetically reject this attack that not only endangers the life of a political leader, but also threatens democracy and freedom in Colombia,” the party added.
President Petro also expressed his concern and said that he was canceling a trip to France because of the attack.
“My solidarity with the Uribe family and the Turbay family,” he wrote on X. “I don’t know how to ease their pain.”
A video verified by The New York Times shows Mr. Uribe delivering a speech and then wincing after apparently being shot. Videos recorded in the same location shortly afterward show Mr. Uribe bleeding from the head while bystanders compress the wound and then carry him away.
Mr. Uribe had declared his intention to seek his party’s nomination in next year’s presidential election. He was not considered a leading candidate, though the election is still almost a year away, with a first round slated for May 31, 2026.
One suspect had been detained as of Saturday at 8 p.m. local time, according to Pedro Sánchez, the defense minister.
“We are checking to see if there are any other people involved,” Mr. Sánchez said on X, offering a reward of up to 3 billion Colombian pesos, or $730,000, for any information leading to the capture of the perpetrators.
He said that he had ordered the military, the national police and intelligence agencies “to deploy all their capabilities to urgently clarify the facts,” and that he would soon hold a meeting to determine a strategy moving forward.
“This attack pains us,” he added. “It mobilizes us to redouble our efforts to protect life, guarantee free political participation, and deliver justice.”
Mr. Uribe is the grandson of Julio César Turbay, president of Colombia from 1978 to 1982.
He is not related to former President Álvaro Uribe, a well-known conservative politician who was president from 2002 to 2010.
Political violence has touched the family before. Senator Uribe’s mother, Diana Turbay, a journalist and the daughter of President Turbay, was kidnapped by the Medellín Cartel, run by Pablo Escobar, in 1990. She died during a rescue attempt in 1991, shot by her abductors.
These events, which took place while Mr. Uribe was a child, were later captured by the novelist Gabriel García Márquez in his book “News of a Kidnapping,” and they continue to loom large in the national psyche.
Colombia has endured decades of violence with complex causes that include inequality, land disputes, and battles over the drug trade. In the 1990s and into the 2000s, armed groups — including left-wing guerrillas and narcotraffickers — used kidnappings and other violence against prominent figures to demonstrate strength and try to sway policy.
High-profile political violence had subsided in recent years, with the conflict instead playing out in small towns and cities far from the capital. Everyday Colombians and little-known peace activists have often been the victims.
On Saturday, Sergio Guzmán, a Colombian political analyst, called Mr. Uribe a “rising star” on the country’s right and the assassination a “shocking development” that recalled a time that many Colombians believed that they had moved past.
“This doesn’t feel like we are moving forward,” Mr. Guzmán said. “This feels like we’re moving backward.”
Mr. Petro, the current president, was elected in 2022 in part on a promise to achieve what he called “total peace” — meaning peace deals with the country’s remaining armed groups.
But he has made little headway on achieving this, and Mr. Uribe had frequently blamed the president for continuing violence in the country.
“Every day Petro is in power,” Mr. Uribe wrote on X in May, “Colombia bleeds.”
On Saturday night Mr. Uribe’s wife, María Claudia Tarazona, posted a message from the senator’s account on X. “Miguel is currently fighting for his life,” she said. “I ask everyone to join us in a chain of prayer for Miguel’s life.”
Simón Posada and Devon Lum contributed reporting.
Genevieve Glatsky is a reporter for The Times, based in Bogotá, Colombia.
Julie Turkewitz is the Andes Bureau Chief for The Times, based in Bogotá, Colombia, covering Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru.
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