On 11 August 2025, it was announced that Miguel Uribe the pre-candidate for the Centro Democratico Party for next year’s presidential elections had died of his injuries from the assassination attempt on his life in June. This cruel act not only challenges democracy but also leaves a family devastated by his loss.
On 7 June 2025, Miguel Uribe was shot in the head allegedly by a fifteen year old. Six people have been arrested in connection with this crime. Colombian authorities have stated that they are pursuing the “intellectual authors” of the attack. Currently, three adults are facing charges of using a minor to commit a crime. The Police have said that they have also arrested Élder José Arteaga Hernández, known as El Costeño, who is alleged to have been among those who orchestrated the attack. The Ministry of Defence has offered a reward of approximately £550,000 for information leading to the identification and capture of the culprits. It is said that the UK as well as the United Arab Emirates and the USA are helping with the investigation. According to data from the Electoral Observation Mission (MOE), elections in Bogota have been carried out with relatively little violence since the 1980s and 1990s. Questions are being asked as to whether Colombia is regressing to the violence of the past. Whilst Bogota and other cities have not experienced this type of electoral violence since the 1990s, the same cannot be said for the regions.
The story of regional elections has been marked by ongoing violence. The 2023 local elections were the most violent since 2019, with 140 murders and 87 attacks reported, according to the MOE, an increase of 16.4% compared to 2019. The departments of Cauca, Antioquia, Valle del Cauca, Norte de Santander, Nariño, Huila, and Bolívar stood out as epicentres of widespread and lethal violence against political leaders, accounting for 46.4% of all attacks and 53.7% of lethal incidents. Furthermore, there was a period following the 2023 local elections, between 30 October 2023 and 29 February 2024, when violence against those local electoral candidates increased by 232% compared to the same period in 2019 and 2020.
Political Candidates attempt to reduce violence in the Upcoming Elections.
Following the assassination attempt on Miguel Uribe, in an initiative led by the Colombian Ombudsman’s Office with the support of the Colombian Episcopal Conference and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the OAS Mission to Support the Peace Process (MAPP OAS), and the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia, over 70 political actors, including President Gustavo Petro, came together to discuss ways in which violence could be reduced in the upcoming elections in May 2026. Out of this discussion an agreement was reached to avoid hate language, and attacking the candidates personally, rather to focus on discussing the merits, or not, of the different political parties’ policies. This signed agreement is an effort on the part the politicians to promote peaceful elections in May 2026.
It is hoped that the 2026 elections will focus on policies and not on demonising the opposition. It is essential that political leaders seek to reduce the polarization in the country and endeavour to promote policies that will unite Colombia, one clear way is to uphold the commitments made in the above initiative and to focus on policies that will implement the agreements in the Peace Accord.