Hospital Says Colombian Presidential Hopeful Uribe Turbay Remains in Critical Condition

The University Hospital Fundación Santa Fe, where Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay is being treated after being shot in an attempted assassination on Saturday, said on Monday that he remains in critical condition. His wife says Turbay “needs a miracle.”

“The Fundación Santa Fe Bogotá, with the authorization of the family, informs that patient Miguel Uribe Turbay remains in critical condition and has had little response to medical interventions and treatment,” the hospital said in a social media post early on June 9.

The Santa Fe Foundation received authorization from Turbay’s wife, one day after the attempted assassination, to release information on the health of the Colombian senator and presidential candidate.

The Santa Fe Foundation Hospital said it remains committed to monitoring the health of Turbay, who is a member of the conservative opposition party Centro Democrático.

“His condition is extremely serious. Therefore, the prognosis remains guarded,” it added.

The candidate underwent “neurosurgical and peripheral vascular” surgery, the hospital said on Saturday, June 7.

Turbay was at a presidential campaign event for 2026 in a park in the Fontibón neighborhood of Bogotá when he was shot several times from behind at around 5 p.m. local time, the opposition party said in a statement.

At a press conference on Monday, Colombian Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo announced the arrest of the alleged would-be assassin, a 15-year-old boy who is under investigation.

“We are perfectly aware that this boy who was apprehended is merely a perpetrator,” she said.

The senator’s wife, María Claudia Tarazona, asked Colombians to continue praying for Turbay’s health, minutes before the medical report was released to the public on Monday.

“I ask you with all my heart to not stop praying. Miguel needs a miracle,” Tarazona said in an Instagram post.

In a separate post, Tarazona dedicated a few words to the pre-candidate on the same social network.

“Our love keeps me strong, the family we have built is my greatest strength. Today, you are fighting like a warrior for your life. The love of Alejandro, the girls, and mine is the bond that ties you to life,” Tarazona wrote on Instagram alongside a photograph of Turbay and his children. “Keep fighting for your life, my love. In the meantime, I am taking care of our children.”

In addition, the Colombian Congress, through the Senate Steering Committee, organized a mass for Turbay’s health on Monday.

“Today, June 9, at 3:45 p.m., mass for our colleague Miguel Uribe in the Constitution Hall,” Colombian Sen. Paola Holguín wrote on X.

The party also requested that all public institutions in the country suspend their sessions on Monday in solidarity with the senator and his family.

“At this moment, our colleague is fighting for his life. This painful situation demands a pause and reflection from all other political forces in the nation,” the Democratic Center wrote in a statement on X on Monday.

“Violence cannot be normalized. Violence demands not only rejection in our words, but also in our behavior. We will not act as if nothing has happened. Something very serious has happened, something that demands that we, as democrats, bear this wound together.”