Journalist mother of Colombian leader shot in head was kidnapped, killed by Pablo Escobar

Uribe hails from an influential family and is the son of journalist Diana Turbay, who was killed after being kidnapped by Pablo Escobar.

Published on: Jun 8, 2025, 15:37:18 IST

By HT News Desk

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Colombia senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe was shot in the head during a rally on Sunday. The Colombian leader is the son of former journalist Diana Turbay, who was once kidnapped by a group linked to drug lord Pablo Escobar.

Senator Miguel Uribe is a candidate for next year's presidential election and was shot and wounded in Bogota. (AFP)

Thirty-nine-year-old Senator Miguel Uribe was speaking to supporters in Bogota when a gunman shot him twice in the head and once in the knee. As per police, the suspect is a 15-year-old boy, who was detained after the attack.

Senator in ‘critical' stage of recovery

The senator was rushed to the hospital in “critical condition”. As per the Santa Fe clinic in Bogota, the presidential candidate underwent "neurosurgical" and “peripheral vascular procedure.”

He "overcame the first surgical procedure," Bogota mayor Carlos Fernando Galan told media, adding that the senator had now entered "the critical hours" of recovery.

As the Colombian leader recovers, thousands of supporters and political allies gathered outside the Santa Fe clinic with candles, praying for a swift recovery.

Mother kidnapped by Pablo Escobar-'s cartel

Uribe hails from an influential Colombian family. He is the son of Diana Turbay, a famed Colombian journalist who was killed after she was kidnapped by Pablo Escobar's Medellin Cartel.

Diana was the daughter of former Colombian president Julio Cesar Turbay, who led the country from 1978 to 1982. During a campaign of terror for non-extradition, Diana was abducted by an Escobar-linked cartel.

The famed TV journalist was killed during a raid by government security forces.

As per a statement by the Inter American Press Association, Turbay "died on January 25, 1991, in a police operation in which she received a deadly gunshot wound to the back."

"She had been kidnapped by Escobar to put pressure on the then president, César Gaviria, to overturn the extradition agreement with the United States," it added further.

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