Colombia mourns slain presidential hopeful
Colombian mourns slain senator Miguel Uribe, widow pledges new era
Tribute draws echoes of past violences
In Bogotá’s cathedral, Maria Claudia Tarazona, the bereaved wife of a 39‑year‑old senator, confronted the nation’s lingering scars. “We are in the darkest days of our history,” she declared to a crowd, while her husband’s funeral service marked the sorrow of a country still healing from decades of political turmoil.
Uribe’s death sparks reflection on Colombia’s violence past
- Uribe, a conservative lawmaker, was shot in June during a campaign tour and died of his injuries this week.
- Assassinations of four presidential candidates during the 1980s and 1990s left a chilling legacy.
- His mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was murdered in a botched 1991 police operation aimed to free her from Pablo Escobar’s Medellín cartel.
- Uribe’s father, Miguel Uribe Londono, recalled the 34‑year‑old tragedy of his mother’s death, highlighting a family drawn into continuous loss.
Uribe’s widow vows justice for children
Terms of the family’s chosen representative voice carried forward a promise of parental love. “Miguel, I will love you each day until we meet in heaven,” Tarazona expressed, while urging that his son Alejandro and stepdaughters receive a life free from hatred.
Political context a weighty backdrop
Colombia’s 2026 elections will replace incumbent left‑leaning president Gustavo Petro, constitutionally barred from a second term. Petro, a former guerrilla, opted out of the funeral out of respect for the family, avoiding any potential takeover by hostile supporters. Critics, especially from the right wing, decried Petro’s conciliatory approach to armed groups as inappropriate for a nation processing its violent history.
Former leaders pay respects
Past presidents Juan Manuel Santos and César Gaviria attended the service, underscoring the widespread acknowledgment that the country’s past and present must confront the legacies that continue to shape Colombia’s political and social landscape.
