Doctors treating Colombian presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe Turbay have warned that he is in an “extremely critical condition” after being shot in the head 10 days ago.
Uribe underwent emergency surgery on Monday to stem a bleed to the brain, according to a hospital statement.
His wife said that the hours after the operation would be critical and asked Colombians to pray for his recovery.
The June 7 attack on Uribe has shocked Colombians, who turned out in their tens of thousands to attend silent protests held across the country on Sunday.
“Miguel continues to fight for his life like never before,” his wife, María Claudia Tarazona, said outside Santa Fe hospital, where he is being treated.
“We need all the prayers and words of love. It’s love is keeping him alive.”
The 39-year-old conservative senator, who was seeking his party’s nomination for the 2026 presidential election, was shot three times at an event in the capital Bogota.
A teenage suspect was arrested as he was fleeing the scene. The 15-year-old has been charged with attempted murder and pleaded not guilty.
A man accused of providing the shooter with the gun has also been detained as well as a woman suspected of providing “logistical support” for the attack.
However, police are still trying to determine the possible motive for the attack and who may have ordered it.
The brazen attack on the politician – in broad daylight as he was giving a speech in a middle-class neighbourhood in Bogota – has brought back memories of the turbulent decades of the 1980s and 90s in Colombia, when several presidential candidates and influential Colombian figures were assassinated.
Uribe’s own mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was kidnapped by Los Extraditables in 1990 – an alliance created by leading drug lords.
She was held hostage by them for five months before being shot dead during a botched rescue attempt.
Uribe often cited her as his inspiration to run for political office “to work for our country”.
Los Extraditables, who have said they would prefer a grave in Colombia to a prison cell in the US, abducted and attacked renowned Colombians in an attempt to force the government at the time to overturn its extradition treaty with the US.
