Miguel Uribe Turbay is in “extremely critical” condition following emergency surgery.

The Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay, who was shot in the head in an attack on June 7, is in “extremely critical” condition after undergoing emergency surgery on Monday morning. The Santa Fe Foundation in Bogotá, where he is being treated, reported in a statement that he is experiencing “persistent cerebral edema” and “difficult-to-control intracerebral bleeding.” Earlier, the senator had undergone a procedure due to an acute intracerebral hemorrhage. Since the day of the attack, the congressman has remained in critical condition, although stable, aside from a slight improvement announced by the medical center last Wednesday.

María Claudia Tarazona, the senator’s wife, stated after learning of the Santa Fe Foundation’s statement that Uribe Turbay is fighting for his life “like never before.” “All the expressions of love, prayers, and supplications have helped keep Miguel strong in his battle and our family standing to support him. But today, with a heavy heart, I must tell you that he is fighting the most difficult battle we have faced up until today,” she declared to the media at the entrance of the clinic. “That is why I come to ask each Colombian (…) to join in a mass prayer. Today is crucial.”

Earlier, the Santa Fe Foundation had issued a general report indicating that, in the early morning, Uribe Turbay underwent a supplementary surgery to the one performed on the day of the attack. Postoperative control showed that the results of the intervention were as expected, although there was no significant change in his condition. The medical center reiterated that the opposition politician’s condition remains critical and he continues to be assessed.

After the attack, which occurred while he was attending a rally in the Modelia neighborhood in western Bogotá, Uribe Turbay was critically transferred to the Medicentro clinic, just a few blocks from where the shooting occurred. There, he was stabilized before being transferred to the Santa Fe Foundation a couple of hours later. In that center, one of the most reputable in Colombia, he underwent a neurosurgical and vascular procedure. Following an initial assessment of injuries and surgery on his left thigh, where he had received another bullet wound leading to significant blood loss, the senator was placed in the intensive care unit for stabilization and recovery. The following Monday, two days after the attack, the medical center reported that Uribe had shown “limited response” to the medical treatments he had undergone so far.

Since then, the senator has remained in critical but stable condition. The following Wednesday, he showed slight signs of improvement due to a decrease in cerebral edema, meaning a reduction in the fluid that raises intracranial pressure. There was also a trend towards more stable blood circulation. On Friday, he responded to the procedures, showing a “slight” decrease in intracranial pressure. The clinic announced that if this progression continues, a more detailed brain examination would be conducted to assess any changes in the senator’s injuries.

The attacker was a 14-year-old hitman, arrested shortly after the incident. The weapon used was a 9mm Glock, purchased in the United States. Preliminary hypotheses from the Prosecutor’s Office point to a network of hitmen as the possible responsible party, and authorities have already detained two more individuals identified as participants in the assassination plot. President Gustavo Petro has indicated a supposed international drug trafficking syndicate based in Dubai that controls the cocaine trade in Latin America, which, according to him, is retaliating for the blows his government has dealt to illegal drug trafficking.

Miguel Uribe is a young politician but very visible within the Uribista party, Centro Democrático. The son of journalist Diana Turbay, who was murdered by Pablo Escobar in 1991, and the grandson of former President Julio César Turbay, he is among the broad array of right-wing candidates for the presidency in the 2026 elections. The attack he suffered has sparked a broad debate on the ways politics is conducted in Colombia. Both the opposition and several independent sectors participated in a massive demonstration on Sunday, which gathered about 70,000 people in Bogotá, called the great silence march in support of Uribe Turbay, but also with a message—sometimes implicit, sometimes very explicit—against President Gustavo Petro.