Miguel Uribe, a Colombian presidential candidate, was shot and a suspect was taken into custody

Local media claimed that Senator Miguel Uribe of Colombia was in a bad condition at a local hospital after he was wounded on Saturday in Bogota, according to the government and his party.

Founded by former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, the 39-year-old senator is a member of the opposition conservative Democratic Center party and is vying for the presidency in 2026. Neither man is related to the other.

The senator was holding a campaign event in a public park in the capital’s Fontibon neighborhood on Saturday when “armed subjects shot him in the back,” according to a party statement denouncing the incident.

While describing the attack as serious, the party did not provide any information regarding Uribe’s condition.

According to Pedro Sanchez, Colombia’s defense minister, one suspect has been taken into custody in connection with the incident, and investigators are looking into potential involvement. Sanchez claimed to have been to the hospital where Uribe was receiving care.

The administration “categorically and forcefully” repudiated the violent attack, according to a statement released by the Colombian presidency, which also demanded a comprehensive inquiry into what happened.

With ties to Colombia’s Liberal Party, Uribe comes from a well-known Colombian family. His father was a union leader and businessman. In 1990, his mother, writer Diana Turbay, was abducted by an armed squad led by Pablo Escobar, the late cartel leader. During a rescue attempt, she died.

Colombia has been enmeshed in a war for decades between the government, criminal organizations descended from right-wing paramilitaries, and leftist insurgents. In a post on X, leftist President Gustavo Petro expressed sympathy for the senator’s family, writing, “I’m not sure how to make you feel better. It is the anguish of losing a mother and a country.