Colombian Presidential Pre-Candidate Miguel Uribe Remains in Critical Condition After Surgery

People hug each other outside the clinic where Colombian Sen. Miguel Uribe Turbay is being treated after he was shot at a political rally, in Bogota, Colombia, on June 8, 2025. Ramon Espinosa/AP Photo

The health of Colombian presidential pre-candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay remains in “critical” condition on June 17, according to the hospital where he has been hospitalized since an attempt on his life on June 7.

“The Santa Fe Foundation of Bogotá reports, at the request of the family, that patient Miguel Uribe Turbay remains in the intensive care unit, under multidisciplinary care with hemodynamic and neurological support and monitoring,” stated the hospital’s medical report, signed by Dr. Adolfo Llinás Volpe, the hospital’s medical director, on June 17.

“His clinical condition remains extremely serious, with a guarded prognosis.”

In another message, the foundation said that a statement mentioning the alleged death of the 39-year-old Colombian senator, who on June 17 completed 10 days in the hospital, was false.

“False statement. All official information is released exclusively through our verified channels,” the hospital stated. “We recommend refraining from disseminating information from unofficial sources.”

The politician had to be rushed to the hospital on the morning of June 16 for further surgery, this time because of “acute intracerebral bleeding.”

The hospital reported at 3:40 p.m. local time on June 16 that Uribe Turbay “came out of surgery and his condition is extremely critical, characterized by persistent cerebral edema and intracerebral bleeding that is difficult to control.”

“Therefore, the patient’s condition is extremely serious,” the hospital stated, adding that Uribe Turbay would remain under “continuous monitoring with a guarded prognosis.”

In the attack on June 7, Uribe Turbay was shot in the back of the head twice and once in the left leg while campaigning for the 2026 presidential elections in a park in the Fontibón neighborhood of Bogotá.

His wife, María Claudia Tarazona, continues to hope that Uribe Turbay will show some improvement.

“With God’s help, with the love that keeps you alive, it will happen again! I love you, love of my life,” she wrote on June 17 on Instagram, in a message accompanied by a photograph of the senator making a video call with her and their son.

On the afternoon of June 16, Tarazona asked Colombians for “a massive prayer” for Uribe Turbay’s health during a news conference.

“Miguel is still fighting for his life, as he has never done before, as he has never been seen before,” she said to reporters.

“All the expressions of love, the prayers, the words of love have served to keep Miguel strong in his fight and our family standing to support him.

“But today, with my heart in my hand, I have to tell you that he is fighting the hardest battle we have ever had to face, which is why I am coming out to ask each and every Colombian once again, appealing to your good hearts, to the love you feel for Miguel, for my family, and for Colombia, to join us in a massive prayer.”

Uribe Turbay, who comes from a prominent Colombian family, was set to be the official presidential candidate for the opposition Democratic Center party.

His father is a trade unionist and his mother, journalist Diana Turbay, the daughter of former Colombian President Julio César Turbay Ayala (1978–1982), was killed during a failed rescue attempt in 1991 after being kidnapped for a year by an armed group under the orders of drug lord Pablo Escobar.

The Colombian conflict has raged for decades among the government, criminal groups, and various guerrilla groups.