Teenage Gunman Sentenced to 7 Years for Killing Prominent Colombian Politician

The funeral of Woo Bae member held on August 12. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

According to a report by the Associated Press on August 27 (local time), the teenage gunman who shot and killed Assemblyman Miguel Uribe Turbay, who had been considered a leading candidate for Colombia's next president, has been sentenced to seven years in a juvenile correctional facility.

Assemblyman Uribe was shot while giving a speech in a park in downtown Bogot?, the capital of Colombia, on June 7. He was transported to a nearby hospital and underwent major surgery. Despite multiple subsequent surgeries and intensive care due to his critical condition, he ultimately passed away on August 11, two months later, at the age of 39. The shooting was captured on video from multiple angles and released to the public, shocking the entire nation of Colombia. Such an incident was rare since the 1990s, when drug cartel boss Pablo Escobar declared war on the state and a wave of political violence targeting presidential candidates swept the country.

Colombian police arrested a teenage boy near the scene immediately after the incident and later detained five additional suspects. However, authorities have not yet determined who ordered the crime or what the motive was.

Assemblyman Uribe was a member of the centrist Democratic Center party led by former Colombian President ?lvaro Uribe and had announced his candidacy for the Colombian presidential election scheduled for next year. He entered politics in 2012 when he was elected to the Bogot? City Council at the age of 25. In 2018, he ran for mayor of Bogot? but was defeated, and in the 2022 general election, he was elected as a senator.

Miguel Uribe Londo?o, who declared his presidential candidacy following the death of his son. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

Assemblyman Uribe came from a prominent political family. His maternal grandfather, Julio C?sar Turbay, served as President of Colombia from 1978 to 1982, and his paternal grandfather, Rodrigo Uribe Echavarr?a, was the leader of the Colombian Liberal Party. His mother, Diana Turbay, was a well-known journalist who was kidnapped and murdered by the infamous drug cartel led by Pablo Escobar in the 1990s. Assemblyman Uribe's father, Miguel Uribe Londo?o, has declared his candidacy for president. He has expressed his determination to carry on his son's legacy and to "build a safer and more prosperous Colombia."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.