Two months have passed since Colombian Senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot during a campaign rally in Bogotá, Colombia.
An assailant shot the 39-year-old political figure three times—twice in the head—and doctors at Santa Fe Foundation Hospital’s intensive care unit attempted various neurological procedures, achieving only slight improvements.
However, despite best efforts from doctors, Turbay’s wife, María Claudia Tarazona, confirmed that he died on social media, writing, “Rest in peace, love of my life. I will take care of our children. I ask God to show me the way to learn to live without you.”
Florida lawmakers expressed their sadness, mourning the loss of Turbay.
Florida Representative María Elvira Salazar (R) said, “With profound sadness, I stand with the family and loved ones of Miguel Uribe in this deeply painful moment. His passing leaves an immense void in those who knew him and profoundly hurts the heart of all Colombia.”
She continued, calling Turbay a passionate leader who served the people and fiercely loved and defended his country until his last day.
Florida Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart (R) made a statement expressing how Turbay was a bastion of hope for democracy in Colombia.
“I join the Colombian people in this moment of profound sadness for the passing of Miguel Uribe, a young politician who was a hope for democracy in his country,” he said. “My deepest condolences to his family, and my conviction that violence must be eradicated from Colombia.”
Following Turbay’s assassination, police arrested a teenage suspect at the scene of the June 7 attack in a working-class Bogota neighborhood, while authorities later detained several other people, but they have not determined who ordered the hit or why.
Turbay’s death shocked Colombia’s political sphere, with many not seeing violence of this level since Pablo Escobar’s declaration of war against the Colombian government in the 1990s.
