An assassination attempt on a Colombian senator and presidential hopeful Saturday stirred echoes of a dark period in the country’s history
Miguel Uribe Turbay, a right-wing politician and critic of current President Gustavo Petro, remained in serious condition Sunday after being shot in the head at a campaign event by a 15-year-old hitman.
The attack has “revived a nightmare from 35 years ago,” El País wrote: Three presidential candidates were assassinated in the runup to Colombia’s 1990 election as cartel-driven violence gripped the country.
Whoever ordered Uribe’s shooting “had the intention of throwing gas onto a fire” ahead of next year’s presidential vote, one expert said, “trying to be incendiary in an electoral context that is already deeply polarized.”