The Colombian Prosecutor's Office says a criminal network is behind the attack against Uribe.

BarcelonaColombia's Attorney General, Luz Adriana Camargo, reported on Monday that the investigation into the attack against presidential candidate Miguel Uribe The report indicates that an organized criminal group is behind the attack in which the senator was seriously injured. The perpetrator is a 15-year-old minor carrying a gun. He was arrested immediately after the attack by the politician's own followers, who held him until security forces arrived. "We are perfectly aware that this boy is only the perpetrator," the prosecutor stated at a press conference, adding that her objective is "to be able to establish who carried out this criminal act." At least 180 officials are participating in the investigation, including investigators from the Attorney General's Office, intelligence agents, and members of the Colombian National Police, she explained.

Senator and presidential candidate for the opposition Democratic Center party, Miguel Uribe, 39, was shot twice on Saturday, once in the head and once in the leg, while participating in an election event. He underwent two surgeries on Saturday, but did not respond to the operations and remained in "critical condition" as of Monday. "His condition is extremely serious. Therefore, the prognosis remains guarded," reads the medical report issued Monday by Dr. Adolfo Llinás Volpe, medical director of the Santa Fe Foundation, one of Colombia's most prestigious healthcare centers, where the politician underwent surgery on Saturday.

The senator's family filed a criminal complaint on Monday against the National Protection Unit (UNP), attached to the Ministry of the Interior, for alleged negligence in failing to reinforce the candidate's security. "During 2025, we made more than 23 requests for increased protection. The last one was submitted on June 5," explained the family's lawyer, Víctor Mosquera.

This Monday, the 15-year-old boy arrested for the attack was also charged with homicide and illegal weapons possession. The teenager could face an eight-year prison sentence, according to the Colombian prosecutor, who also clarified that the young man is not currently scheduled to be placed in a juvenile center because "his safety cannot be guaranteed." The boy has already received threats after his identity was disseminated on social media. Therefore, the prosecutor proposes transferring him to "a special area of the Prosecutor's Office bunker, isolated from the adult population and under constant surveillance." However, the minor remains in a hospital as of today, having suffered a gunshot wound to the leg in the attack.

The prosecutor also detailed that ballistics analysis of the pistol seized from the young man has been conducted and has been able to confirm that the weapon was acquired in Arizona, United States, in 2020. "Now, an investigation is underway into how it arrived in Colombia and what other criminal events he was involved in."

Government measures

Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez Suárez has reported that authorities are working on three hypotheses regarding the motives for the attack: "We could group them into three main groups: [the attack] occurred directly because it was Miguel Uribe Turbay; or because he is a politician, with everything he wants to do against members of the government who think differently," he explained after participating in a security council meeting also attended by President Gustavo Petro.

Petro plans to meet with the presidents of the different political parties to discuss electoral violence and to discuss guarantees for holding elections next year: legislative elections are scheduled for March 2026 and presidential elections in May. However, three parties have already indicated they will not attend: the right-wing parties Centro Democrático (Democratic Center)—to which Uribe belongs—, Cambio Radical (Radical Change), and the Conservative Party.

The president also announced via social media that he has ordered the expansion of "the security systems for members of the opposition and the families of members of the national government, in light of the new direct threats against the children of ministers and the president." However, two candidates, former Bogotá mayor Claudia López and former minister Mauricio Lizcano, have suspended their public activities in solidarity with Uribe and because they believe their security is not guaranteed.

According to the Minister of the Interior, some members of his family and even President Petro's daughter received threats after the attack. "What the government is asking for is an end to the insinuations about responsibility for this crime, because that distances us from the truth, and if we distance ourselves from the truth, it is easier to fall into the abyss of violence," Minister Benedetti demanded.

Politicians from all parties have called for an end to inflammatory rhetoric ahead of next year's elections. However, some accuse President Petro of fomenting polarization.

The attempted assassination of Uribe has caused consternation in the country. Many people fear that next year's elections will mark a return to the climate of political violence experienced during the 1989 and 1990 electoral campaigns, when three candidates were assassinated: Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento, Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa, and Carlos Pizarro Leongómez.