Miguel Uribe, a Colombian senator and presidential hopeful, has died at age 39, two months after he was shot in the head during a campaign event.
His wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, confirmed the tragic news on social media Monday morning.
“You will always be the love of my life. Thank you for a life full of love, thank you for being a father to the girls, the best father to Alejandro,” she wrote in Spanish on Instagram.
“Rest in peace, love of my life. I will take care of our children.”
Uribe succumbed to his critical injuries after spending nine weeks in the hospital. The hospital that treated him announced over the weekend that he was experiencing bleeding in the brain before his death.
On June 7, the presidential hopeful from Colombia’s right-wing opposition party was shot in Bogota during a campaign rally in broad daylight.
Four people, including a 14-year-old boy identified as the shooter, were arrested in connection with the shooting. All four were charged with attempted murder and illegal firearm possession, while the three adults were hit with charges for using a minor to commit a crime.
All four have pleaded not guilty to the charges and told prosecutors they targeted Uribe in the assassination attempt on orders from Elder Jose Arteaga Hernandez, who was taken into custody last month.
Authorities have not determined a motive for the shooting, which came just as campaigning for Colombia’s 2026 presidential election was beginning.
Uribe’s death drew mourning on social media from prominent Colombian figures.
“Evil destroys everything, they killed hope,” former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez wrote in Spanish on X. “May Miguel’s struggle be a light that illuminates Colombia’s rightful path.”
Ivan Duque Marquez, who was Colombia’s president from 2018 to 2022 and led Uribe’s Democratic Center party, also mourned his death on behalf of the country.
COLOMBIAN SENATOR SHOT IN BOGOTA DURING CAMPAIGN EVENT
“Terrorism has taken from us a promise of Colombia and an upright and transparent leader,” he said on social media. “Colombia mourns, but it will not surrender to the criminals who took the life of an admirable young man.”
Notably, Uribe is the son of a murdered journalist. His mother, Diana Turbay, died at age 40 in 1991 after she was kidnapped by the Medellin drug cartel.