Who is Colombian Sen. Miguel Uribe Turbay who was shot during a campaign rally in Bogota?

Conservative Colombian Sen. Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot and seriously injured during a campaign rally in the capital, Bogota. The brazen attack captured on video shook a nation that decades ago regularly saw kidnappings and killings of politicians and high profile people.

Uribe Turbay, 39, who has announced he intends to run for president next year, was in serious condition following surgery Sunday, a day after the shooting, and doctors said he was going through “critical hours.”

Here's what to know about the conservative politician:

A member of the right-wing Democratic Center party, Uribe Turbay launched his presidential bid in March. He has become a prominent opposition voice against the government of President Gustavo Petro, the first leftist politician to become the leader of Colombia. Petro cannot seek reelection in 2026.

Uribe Turbay, whose family had also suffered political violence, launched his presidential bid in March. In October last year, he had posted a video on social media announcing his intention to run, choosing the mountains of Copacabana in the department of Antioquia as a backdrop.

The country will hold a presidential election on May 31, 2026.

“A place with deep meaning for me,” he said in the video. “It was here that my mother was kidnapped by Pablo Escobar and was killed when I was about to turn five.”

His mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was abducted by the Medellin Cartel and killed in 1991, one of Colombia’s most violent periods.

The attack on Uribe Turbay on Saturday shocked the nation and revived memories of an era when political violence affected Colombian public life.

Uribe Turbay entered politics early, being elected to Bogota’s City Council at age 25 in 2012. In 2016, he was appointed the city’s secretary of government by then-Mayor Enrique Peñalosa.

In 2022, he became senator after being invited to run by former President Álvaro Uribe Vélez, no relation.

Uribe Turbay was born into a prominent political family. He is the grandson of former President Julio César Turbay Ayala, who served from 1978 to 1982, and the paternal grandson of Rodrigo Uribe Echavarría, a former director of the Liberal Party.

He was not considered a front-runner in next year’s race, according to recent polls, and was still facing competition within his political coalition. In his pre-campaign messaging, Uribe Turbay focused heavily on security, seeking to inspire investments and promote economic stability.

The senator is going through what authorities have described as “critical hours” after undergoing surgery at a private clinic in Bogotá.

“He survived the procedure; these are critical moments and hours for his survival,” said Bogotá Mayor Carlos Galán early Sunday after receiving information from the medical staff at the Fundación Santa Fe clinic.

“His condition is extremely serious and the prognosis is reserved,” the clinic added hours later in a new medical report.

Police arrested a 15-year-old boy for the shooting who they considered the perpetrator. Authorities have not disclosed a motive.

Colombia’s Ombudsman’s Office condemned the attack, saying the country “cannot allow a return to dark times when violence sought to silence ideas, candidacies or political leadership.”

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People march to the clinic where Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay is being treated after he was shot, in Bogota, Colombia, Sunday, June 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

People march to the clinic where Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay is being treated after he was shot, in Bogota, Colombia, Sunday, June 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

People gather to pray for Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay's recovery after he was shot at a political rally, in Cali, Colombia, Sunday, June 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

A woman lights a candle at a gathering to pray for Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay's recovery after he was shot at a political rally, in Cali, Colombia, Sunday, June 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

A man prays for Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay's recovery after he was shot at a political rally, in Cali, Colombia, Sunday, June 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)