BOGOTÁ, July 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Colombian presidential candidate and senator Miguel Uribe is showing signs of improvement five weeks after surviving an assassination attempt, the clinic treating him said.
Uribe, 39, was critically injured on June 7 when a 15-year-old suspected hitman opened fire during a campaign speech in Bogotá, striking him twice in the head and once in the leg. He underwent emergency surgery to stop internal bleeding and has remained in intensive care.
The clinic said Uribe is still sedated and on a ventilator but “has shown a favourable and stable clinical response” to ongoing treatment. He is expected to begin neurorehabilitation to recover from his traumatic brain injuries.
Authorities have arrested five individuals in connection with the attack, including the teenage shooter and one suspected mastermind.
Uribe’s wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, said his condition continues to fluctuate.
“It changes so quickly and is so difficult that I don’t even ask what will happen tomorrow,” she told Caracol Television on Sunday. “I see Miguel alive, his body warm, his heart beating, his breathing… and that’s what I hold onto every day.”
The attempted assassination comes amid a broader security crisis in Colombia, where President Gustavo Petro’s “total peace” strategy has struggled to curb violence. Armed groups continue to battle for control over drug trafficking routes, illegal mining zones and rural territories.
The attack on Uribe, a conservative senator and prominent opposition figure, has intensified scrutiny on the country’s deteriorating public safety and political tensions ahead of the next election cycle. — NNN-AGENCIES
