Colombian police have arrested the alleged mastermind of the assassination attempt against a presidential hopeful during a rally last month.
Miguel Uribe, a conservative senator, was twice shot in the head in the capital, Bogotá, as he was campaigning for his party’s nomination in the 2026 presidential election.
Police arrested a suspected criminal, Élder José Arteaga Hernandez, who they say persuaded a 15-year-old to carry out the attack.
Four other people had already been arrested, including the teenager charged with shooting Uribe.
Authorities had previously accused Arteaga, who uses the aliases Chipi and Costeño, of being near the Bogotá park where Uribe was shot.
The suspected mastermind of last month’s assassination attempt on a presidential candidate during a rally has been taken into custody by Colombian police.
In Bogotá, the capital, conservative senator Miguel Uribe was shot twice in the head while he was promoting his party’s candidacy for president in 2026.
Élder José Arteaga Hernandez, a suspected criminal, was taken into custody by police after they claim he convinced a 15-year-old to carry out the attack. Four other individuals, including the teen accused of shooting Uribe, had already been taken into custody.
Uribe is still in a critical state. It’s unclear what motivated the June 7th attempt on his life.
Arteaga has a lengthy criminal history, and he was wanted for “aggravated attempted homicide” and “use of minors for the commission of crimes” related to the attack on Uribe, Colombian police chief Carlos Fernando Triana said on Friday.
According to the police, he hired the shooter, directed the attack, and gave him a weapon.
The authorities had previously accused Arteaga, who goes by the aliases Chipi and Costeño, of being in the vicinity of the Bogotá park where Uribe was shot.
As the 15-year-old suspect fled the scene, he was taken into custody. He later entered a not guilty plea, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Critic of left-wing President Gustavo Petro, Uribe declared last October that he would run for president the following year. The 39-year-old began serving as a senator in 2022.
He has ties to the Liberal Party of Colombia and comes from a well-known political family. His father was an entrepreneur and union leader.
The Medellin drug cartel kidnapped his mother, journalist Diana Turbay, who was killed in a rescue attempt in 1991.
Tens of thousands of Colombians attended silent protests in response to the attack on June 7.
