Colombian presidential candidate, shot in head during Bogota rally, dies

Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe, 39, a potential presidential candidate from the right-wing opposition, was shot in Bogota on June 7 during a rally.

Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe, who was shot in the head in June during a public rally in Bogota, has died, Reuters reported on Monday, citing his family.

Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay looks on after the Senate voted against the government labor reform referendum promoted by Colombia's President Gustavo Petro in Bogota on May 14, 2025. (AFP)

Uribe, 39, a potential presidential candidate from the right-wing opposition, was shot on June 7 during a rally in the city. He was shot three times, including twice in the head.

In July, the Colombian police said that they had arrested five suspects in the case, including a 15-year-old alleged hitman.

The police also arrested Elder Jose Arteaga Hernandez, who they believe was the key planner of the attack on Uribe.

Arteaga Hernandez organised "the before of the attack, the during, and the after," police chief Carlos Fernando Triana Beltran had said.

According to the police, Hernandez, who has a long criminal record and a file with Interpol, coordinated the attack, hired the shooter and provided him with a gun.

Colombian defense minister Pedro Sanchez had said that Arteaga Hernandez "had allegedly negotiated the execution of the crime" for the equivalent of about $250,000, reported AFP.

Uribe, a member of the Democratic Center party, had announced his intention last October to run in the 2026 presidential election.