Colombian senator Uribe shows signs of improvement after shooting

BOGOTA – Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe remains in a critical condition after being shot in Bogota on June 7 but has shown signs of neurological improvement, the hospital treating him said on June 11.

The 39-year-old, a potential presidential contender, is a member of the opposition right-wing Democratic Center party. He was

shot in the head

as he was addressing a campaign event in a public park in the capital.

“Despite the severity of his condition, there are signs of neurological improvement due to a decrease in cerebral edema. There is also evidence of a trend towards hemodynamic stabilisation,” the Santa Fe Foundation hospital said in a statement.

The institution added that Mr Uribe remains under strict neurological monitoring and is receiving required support at the hospital’s intensive care unit.

In the recent days, Mr Uribe’s shooting and a series of bomb attacks on the nation’s south-west have shaken Colombians, harking back to decades of fear and violence caused by armed guerillas, paramilitary groups and drug traffickers.

Leftist President Gustavo Petro, who has vowed to bring peace to the country’s conflict, found in Mr Uribe a staunch critic of his security strategy aimed at ending six decades of armed conflict.

The senator has argued that Mr Petro’s approach of pausing offensives on armed groups, despite the failure of peace talks, has backfired.

“Thousands of Colombians are currently suffering the terrible circumstances and consequences of the war,” Mr Uribe’s wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, told reporters outside the hospital as she called for peace.

“Miguel is where he is right now because he was fighting for the unity and healing of a country at war,” she added. REUTERS