🇨🇴 COLOMBIA: Murdered Presidential Candidate Miguel Uribe Laid to Rest Amid Calls to End Political Violence

Colombia on Wednesday buried murdered presidential candidate and conservative senator Miguel Uribe, whose widow used the emotional farewell to urge the nation to confront its long, bloody history of political violence.

Zig Diaries World News
Date: Wednesday, 13 August 2025
Time: 08:00 WAT
Location: 📍 Bogotá, Colombia

The funeral of 39-year-old Miguel Uribe, who died this week after being shot in June during his campaign in Bogotá, has reignited national debate over Colombia’s entrenched cycle of political violence and the fragile gains since the 2016 peace accords.

Uribe, a prominent conservative lawmaker, was gunned down while campaigning in the capital in June, succumbing to his injuries weeks later. His death, blamed by police on left-wing guerrilla dissidents opposed to the 2016 peace deal, has led to six arrests, including a suspected 15-year-old gunman.

At a packed cathedral service, his widow, Maria Claudia Tarazona, described Colombia as being in “the darkest, saddest, and most painful days,” vowing to raise Uribe’s son and stepdaughters in love, not resentment. “Miguel, I will love you every day of my life until my time comes to meet you in heaven,” she said.

Uribe’s death drew painful parallels to his own family history. His mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was killed in a 1991 police rescue operation targeting the Medellín cartel of Pablo Escobar. In an emotional eulogy, his father, Miguel Uribe Londoño, recalled carrying a four-year-old Miguel in one arm and Diana’s coffin in the other — a moment now tragically mirrored 34 years later.

President Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla, did not attend the funeral at the family’s request, citing the need to avoid politicising the event. His absence comes as critics on the right accuse his administration of being too conciliatory toward armed groups.

Meanwhile, conservative lawmaker Julio Cesar Triana, a vocal Petro critic, narrowly escaped an armed attack in southern Huila, where FARC dissidents remain active — underscoring Colombia’s persistent security challenges.

Former presidents Juan Manuel Santos, Ernesto Samper, and Cesar Gaviria attended the ceremony.

Fact-Check & Background Context:
Colombia’s political history is scarred by high-profile assassinations, especially in the late 20th century when drug cartels, guerrilla forces, and paramilitary groups waged brutal campaigns. 

Four presidential candidates were killed in the 1980s and 1990s. The 2016 peace accords with FARC reduced violence significantly, but dissident factions, criminal gangs, and political tensions continue to threaten stability. Uribe’s assassination has revived fears that Colombia could slip back into darker times.

🏷️ Tags: Colombia, Miguel Uribe, Political Violence, Gustavo Petro, Bogotá, FARC Dissidents, Latin America News
Hashtags: #ZigDiariesWorldAffairs #Colombia #MiguelUribe #PoliticalViolence #Bogotá #FARC