A man carries balloons past a banner honoring presidential hopeful and opposition Sen. Miguel Uribe, who died of gunshot wounds sustained at a political rally, before his funeral Mass in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
Alejandro Uribe places a flower on the coffin of his father, presidential hopeful and opposition Sen. Miguel Uribe, during his memorial service at the cathedral in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. Uribe died from wounds suffered when he was shot at a political rally. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Maria Clara Tarazona, right, and her three daughters pray during the funeral service for her husband, presidential hopeful and opposition Sen. Miguel Uribe, who died from wounds suffered when he was shot at a political rally, in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Mourners line up outside the cathedral in Bogota, Colombia, ahead of the funeral Mass for presidential hopeful and opposition Sen. Miguel Uribe, who died of gunshot wounds sustained at a political rally, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
Alejandro Uribe brings a flower to the coffin of his father, presidential hopeful and opposition Sen. Miguel Uribe, who died from wounds suffered when he was shot at a political rally, during his memorial service at the cathedral in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Mourners carry balloons to the Cathedral in Bogota, Colombia, ahead of the funeral Mass for presidential hopeful and opposition Sen. Miguel Uribe, who died of gunshot wounds sustained at a political rally, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
Maria Clara Tarazona kisses her son Alejandro during the funeral service for her husband, presidential hopeful and opposition Sen. Miguel Uribe, who died from wounds suffered when he was shot at a political rally, in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. At right is Miguel Uribe, the senator's father. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
The coffin of presidential hopeful and opposition Sen. Miguel Uribe, who died of gunshot wounds sustained at a political rally, is carried to the cathedral in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
Mourners gather outside the cathedral in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, during the funeral service for presidential hopeful and opposition Sen. Miguel Uribe, who died from wounds suffered when he was shot at a political rally. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
A man carries balloons past a banner honoring presidential hopeful and opposition Sen. Miguel Uribe, who died of gunshot wounds sustained at a political rally, before his funeral Mass in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
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Alejandro Uribe places a flower on the coffin of his father, presidential hopeful and opposition Sen. Miguel Uribe, during his memorial service at the cathedral in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. Uribe died from wounds suffered when he was shot at a political rally. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
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Maria Clara Tarazona, right, and her three daughters pray during the funeral service for her husband, presidential hopeful and opposition Sen. Miguel Uribe, who died from wounds suffered when he was shot at a political rally, in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
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Mourners line up outside the cathedral in Bogota, Colombia, ahead of the funeral Mass for presidential hopeful and opposition Sen. Miguel Uribe, who died of gunshot wounds sustained at a political rally, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
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Alejandro Uribe brings a flower to the coffin of his father, presidential hopeful and opposition Sen. Miguel Uribe, who died from wounds suffered when he was shot at a political rally, during his memorial service at the cathedral in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
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Mourners carry balloons to the Cathedral in Bogota, Colombia, ahead of the funeral Mass for presidential hopeful and opposition Sen. Miguel Uribe, who died of gunshot wounds sustained at a political rally, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
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Maria Clara Tarazona kisses her son Alejandro during the funeral service for her husband, presidential hopeful and opposition Sen. Miguel Uribe, who died from wounds suffered when he was shot at a political rally, in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. At right is Miguel Uribe, the senator's father. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
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The coffin of presidential hopeful and opposition Sen. Miguel Uribe, who died of gunshot wounds sustained at a political rally, is carried to the cathedral in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
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Mourners gather outside the cathedral in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, during the funeral service for presidential hopeful and opposition Sen. Miguel Uribe, who died from wounds suffered when he was shot at a political rally. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombians on Wednesday bid farewell to senator and presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe Turbay, who died more than two months after being shot during a political rally in the South American country’s capital.
Family, friends, members of Congress and a delegation of government officials from the United States honored Uribe, whose coffin was draped with Colombia’s flag. The 39-year-old died Monday in the hospital where he had been since the June 7 shooting. Thousands of mourners paid their respects Tuesday.
“The bullets that took his life not only broke the hearts of his family, they reopened the fractures of a country that has yet to find peace,†Senate President Lidio GarcÃa said, referring to Colombia’s long history of violence against politicians.
Uribe had become one of the strongest critics of Colombia’s current government. In October, he joined the list of politicians seeking to replace , the first leftist to govern Colombia, in the May 2026 elections.
Petro and Vice President Francia Márquez on Wednesday said on social media that they would not attend Uribe’s funeral out of respect for his family’s wishes.
“We are not going not because we do not want to, we simply respect the family and avoid that the funeral of Senator Miguel Uribe is taken over by supporters of hate,†Petro posted on X.
, twice in the head, while giving a campaign speech in a park in a working-class Bogota neighborhood. Authorities have arrested six people, including the teenager they say shot him, but they have not determined who ordered the attack or why.
The shooting, caught on multiple videos, alarmed Colombians who have not seen this kind of political violence against presidential candidates since declared war on the state in the 1990s.
Uribe’s mother, well-known journalist Diana Turbay, was among the victims in that period. She died during a police rescue after being kidnapped by a group of drug traffickers led by Escobar seeking to block their extradition to the U.S.
“If my mother was willing to give her life for a cause, how could I not do the same in life and in politics?†Uribe, who was 5 when his mother was killed, said in an interview with a Colombian news outlet last year.
said he would be buried Wednesday at Bogota’s Central Cemetery. The cemetery is the oldest in the city and the final resting place of figures such as Liberal leader Luis Carlos Galán, who was shot dead in 1989 while giving a presidential campaign speech in Bogota.
