Christian leaders condemn shooting of Colombian pres. candidate

Colombian presidential candidate and Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot during a political rally in Bogotá on Saturday. The shooting has been condemned both in the South American country and internationally. Uribe belongs to the right-leaning Democratic Center Party. 

The senator was shot three times, twice in the head, and is in intensive care at a hospital in the Colombian capital. Videos on social media show the politician giving a campaign speech when gunshots are heard. Other videos later show him lying bloodied in a vehicle, held down by several men. 

The suspect, believed to be a 15-year-old minor, was arrested by members of  the presidential candidate’s security team and was wounded in the leg after an exchange of gunfire. 

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Following the news of the attack on the presidential candidate, several Christian leaders from Colombia and Latin America reacted on social media, condemning the violence and calling for prayer and peace. 

Pastor and former congressman John Milton Rodríguez asked for prayers for Turbay. “Our prayers for the recovery of Senator Miguel Uribe. Our solidarity with his wife María Claudia, his children, and his entire family,” he posted in a video on Instagram. “We raise our prayers for unity and peace in our country. We reject violence. Our request that all law enforcement, security forces, and the government restore security for all Colombians,” Rodríguez added.

Evangelist Alberto Mottesi posted a photo on his Facebook page in which he is seen praying for Turbay. “NO TO VIOLENCE,” Mottesi wrote in capital letters. “We pray for Colombian Presidential Candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay, who has just suffered an attack. How long will our beloved Latin America continue to experience crime, corruption, and violence? Let us cry out for the redemption of our nations,” the Evangelical leader concluded. 

The author, university professor and lecturer José González, leader of the Semilla organization, declared: “I pray for Miguel Uribe Turbay, victim of hatred and violence, for his family, for the doctors, deacons of God for the health of the body, for his followers and for the Noble Colombian people, do not succumb to the trap that the spirit of terrorism has set for you, to intimidate the opposition and the citizens.” 

González added, “May this multiply the fear of God and the boldness of those called to rescue his people from the darkness that threatens them. Help for Colombia, Lord Jesus!”

Miguel Uribe Turbay is a lawyer by profession and has a political career that includes positions such as Secretary of Government of Bogotá (2016-2018) in the administration of Enrique Peñalosa, and councilman of the capital between 2012 and 2015, a period in which he also presided over the Council. 

Of Lebanese descent and a former member of the Liberal Party, Uribe ran for mayor of Bogotá in 2019 and was elected senator in 2022, heading his party’s list.

In an interview with the newspaper Valores Cristianos, Uribe Turbay had said that Colombian President Petro “represents the exact opposite of what Christian values ​​represent. What’s more, he represents anti-values; he’s a person who wants to invert those values… and of course, throughout his political life, he has persecuted those of us who hold Christian faith.”

Amid the national uproar over the assassination attempt on Uribe Turbay’s life, various voices have called for unity and prayer. Opinion leaders and citizens have called for a national day of prayer for his recovery, inviting the entire country to join in prayer. The event will take place this Sunday at 2 p.m. local time, with the Santa Fe Clinic in Bogotá as its main attraction, where he remains under medical observation. 

This article was originally published at Christian Daily International