Miguel Uribe Turbay (28 January 1986 – 11 August 2025) was a Colombian politician who served as a member of the Senate of Colombia from 2022 until his assassination in 2025.

A member of the conservative Democratic Centre party, he had been seeking the party's nomination for the 2026 presidential election.

Uribe Turbay was the grandson of former president Julio César Turbay Ayala. On 7 June 2025, he was shot in an ultimately successful assassination attempt during a rally in Bogotá and died two months later.

Spouse

María Claudia Tarazona ​ ​ (m. 2016)​

Parents

• Miguel Uribe Londoño (father)
• Diana Turbay (mother)

Relatives

• Julio César Turbay Ayala (grandfather)
• Nydia Quintero (grandmother)

Background

Miguel Uribe Turbay was born in Bogotá, Colombia, in 1986, to Diana Turbay and Miguel Uribe Londoño. The prominent Turbay family are descended from Lebanese immigrants who arrived in Colombia at the end of the 19th century. 

His maternal grandfather, Julio César Turbay Ayala, the son of a Lebanese immigrant, served as president of Colombia from 1978 to 1982, while his maternal grandmother, Nydia Quintero Turbay, is a former first lady of Colombia.

Uribe's mother, Diana Turbay, was a lawyer, journalist, and director of the news program Criptón. In 1990, Diana Turbay was kidnapped by the Medellín Cartel and, in 1991, killed during a botched rescue attempt. Following his mother's death, Miguel Uribe Turbay was raised by his father, Miguel Uribe Londoño, a former Bogotá city councilor, Conservative Party senator, and head of the National Federation of Cocoa Growers.

Uribe Turbay held a law degree and a master's in public policy from the University of the Andes, as well as a master's in public administration from the Harvard School of Government.

Uribe was married to María Claudia Tarazona.

Political career

Bogotá City Councilor

In 2012, Uribe was elected as a Bogotá city councilor at age 25 after campaigning alongside other Colombian Liberal Party politicians such as David Luna, Juan Manuel Galán, and Simón Gaviria (son of former president César Gaviria). In his first year as councilor, he was selected by journalists as "revelation councilor of the year," and later in 2014 became president of the District Council after receiving 32 of 45 available votes.

He was characterized as one of the leading opponents of Bogotá mayor Gustavo Petro, criticizing his handling of the new garbage collection system and social programs.

Secretary of Government

In 2016, at age 30, he was appointed Secretary of Government under mayor Enrique Peñalosa, becoming the youngest Secretary of Government in Bogotá's history after receiving support from then-Vice President of the Republic Germán Vargas Lleras for the position.

During his tenure as Secretary of Government, the homicide rate in Bogotá decreased slightly in 2018, while it increased nationwide for the first time in five years. However, in the first half of 2019, thefts increased by 17% and the perception of insecurity rose.

In 2016, the Legal Office of Bogotá's Secretary of Government issued a legal opinion on the femicide of Rosa Elvira Cely that generated controversy for its victim-blaming tone. Uribe Turbay clarified that he was not consulted on this opinion and offered apologies to the Cely family.

Mayoral candidacy for Bogotá

In 2018, he resigned from his position as Secretary of Government to run for Mayor of Bogotá in 2019. His candidacy was registered independently through the significant citizen movement "Avancemos" (Let's Move Forward), which obtained 400,000 signatures validated by the National Civil Registry. His campaign was joined by various sectors and political parties including the Liberal Party, Conservative Party, Colombia Justa Libres, MIRA Party, and the Democratic Centre, which withdrew its support from then-candidate Ángela Garzón considering Uribe Turbay a more viable option. His campaign proposal focused on defending Enrique Peñalosa's mayoral programs, especially the elevated Metro project, urbanizing the Thomas van der Hammen Forest Reserve, creating multimodal transportation systems, and generally continuing the infrastructure plan and proposals left by the previous administration.

Uribe Turbay obtained 426,982 votes, finishing in fourth place, reflecting the low popularity of Peñalosa's administration, of which he had been one of the most visible officials. The mayoral election was ultimately won by Claudia López.

Senate of the Republic

On December 5, 2021, former President Álvaro Uribe announced that he would use his extraordinary powers as supreme leader of the Democratic Centre to designate Miguel Uribe Turbay as the head of the Senate list. This decision was accepted but not well received by more veteran party members such as María Fernanda Cabal and Paloma Valencia. Thanks to this position, Uribe Turbay was elected on March 13, 2022, as the most voted open-list senator in the country.

Presidential pre-candidacy

On March 4, 2025, Miguel Uribe Turbay officially announced his presidential pre-candidacy for his party, the Democratic Centre, to seek the presidency. Uribe faced María Fernanda Cabal, Paloma Valencia, Andrés Guerra, and Paola Holguín. According to polls conducted at the end of 2024, Miguel Uribe appeared as the collective's favorite, slightly surpassing Cabal. However, the other pre-candidates questioned the reliability of these polls.

Assassination

On 7 June 2025, Uribe Turbay was shot from behind during a rally at El Golfito Park in the Modelia neighborhood of Fontibón, Bogotá. The BBC reported that he was "shot three times – reportedly twice in the head". After he was shot, a gunfight took place between his bodyguards and the gunman, who was shot in the foot. Bystanders also beat the fleeing perpetrator before he was taken into custody. Two other people were injured during the attack. In the video footage recorded at the time of the suspect's arrest, he can be heard shouting, "I'm sorry, I did it for the money, for my family".

Treatment and death

Uribe Turbay was transported to Engativá Medical Center in west Bogotá. Later that night, he was transported by ambulance to the Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá, where chief neurosurgeon Dr. Fernando Hakim led a combined neuro-surgical and peripheral-vascular operation. In a bulletin issued at 01:10 on 8 June, the hospital said that he had been admitted in critical condition. The procedure was successful and Uribe Turbay left the operating theater alive. Despite showing signs of neurological improvement, he remained in an "extremely serious" condition in the intensive-care unit following the initial surgery. On 16 June, he underwent another emergency surgery due to bleeding in his brain. On the early morning of 11 August, around two months after Turbay was shot, he died at a hospital in Bogotá at age 39.

Suspect

The suspect, described as a 14-year-old boy, was detained. Authorities indicated that they believed he was a contract killer hired by others. The suspect pled not guilty in court on 10 June. On 13 June, Colombian prosecutors charged an alleged accomplice, who had turned himself in. A man accused of being the mastermind of the shooting was arrested in Bogotá on 5 July 2025.