Overview

• Miguel Uribe Turbay succumbed to a brain hemorrhage at Fundación Santa Fe on August 11, more than nine weeks after he was shot twice in the head at a Bogotá campaign rally.
• Colombian authorities have arrested a 15-year-old suspected gunman and detained Elder José Arteaga Hernández, accused of planning the attack, but investigators are still probing the motive and possible higher-level organizers.
• The announcement of his death prompted nationwide mourning and mass protests demanding better protection for political figures and a thorough inquiry into political violence.
• Political leaders and analysts say the killing has put President Gustavo Petro’s security and peace strategies under renewed scrutiny and will reshape the landscape of the May 2026 presidential contest.
• Uribe’s high-profile family background—as the grandson of former president Julio César Turbay and son of journalist Diana Turbay—has amplified public anxiety over a return to the country’s violent past.