Christopher Landau, the United States Deputy Secretary of State, is scheduled to arrive in Bogotá on Tuesday to attend Wednesday’s funeral of Colombian Senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay, whose death on Monday from wounds sustained in the June 7 assassination attempt has plunged Colombia back to the darkest days of political violence.
Landau is leading a bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation in what many in Colombia see as a pointed show of Washington’s support for Colombian democracy amid threats to presidential candidates triggered by Uribe Turbay’s murder.
“This is deeply troubling,” stated Landau on Monday during an interview with President Trump, while confirming his travel plans. “It is very concerning that conservative candidates in many countries, including our own, have been targeted for assassination attempts.” He noted that Uribe Turbay “was speaking out against the president of Colombia (Gustavo Petro), who was once a member of the communist guerrilla, and he was attacked a couple of months ago and then died.”
The June 7 attack, carried out during a public rally in Bogotá’s Fontibón locality, left the 39-year-old opposition figure in critical condition. He remained in intensive care for more than two months before succumbing to his injuries early Monday. Uribe Turbay was widely considered the right’s favorite candidate to clinch the 2026 presidential race.
Landau said his trip would demonstrate “deep concern” and stressed Colombia’s strategic importance to the United States, particularly on migration and other regional issues. He also reaffirmed the “solid diplomatic relationship” between Washington and Bogotá, underscoring U.S. commitment to defending democracy and condemning political persecution of opposition leaders.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also expressed his condolences, saying he was “deeply saddened” by the assassination. “The United States stands in solidarity with his family, the Colombian people, both in mourning and demanding justice for those responsible,” he said.
The U.S.representatives who will attend Wednesday’s funeral mass at Bogotá’s Catedral Primada include acting U.S Ambassador to Colombia, John McNamara, DEA director Terrance Cole, and Colombian-born Republican Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio. Moreno is scheduled to meet with President Gustavo Petro.
On Thursday, a second U.S. mission is also heading to Colombia led by Rubén Gallego, Democratic Senator of Arizona. Sources have confirmed that Gallego will meet with Jerónimo Uribe, son of former conservative President Álvaro Uribe Vélez, to discuss the criminal case against his father, who was recently sentenced to 12 years of house arrest for procedural fraud and bribery in criminal proceedings.
While senior U.S. officials occasionally attend high-profile funerals abroad, analysts note that Landau’s decision to alter his travel schedule – he was originally headed to Cartagena later this week – breaks with protocol and sends a deliberate message to Casa de Nariño. The visit comes as Colombian authorities face mounting pressure to ensure the safety of political candidates ahead of the 2026 elections.
With Miguel Uribe’s death, Colombia’s Attorney General has classified the killing as a magnicidio – the Spanish term for the assassination of a head of state or high-ranking political figure – placing it alongside the murders of presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán in 1989 and Justice Minister Rodrigo Lara Bonilla in 1984.
On Monday night, Uribe Turbay’s body was brought to the Salón Elíptico of the National Capitol, escorted by his wife, María Claudia Tarazona; two of their four children, Miguel’s sister, María Carolina Hoyos; father, Miguel Uribe Londoño; and other relatives. A heartfelt ceremony was held for family, close friends, political colleagues, and former Presidents, who shared memories of the Senator’s years in public service.
The Capitol will open on Tuesday morning for the public to pay their respects to a leader many saw as the face of a new generation in Colombian politics. The funeral Mass will take place on Wednesday at noon, officiated by Cardinal Luis José Rueda Aparicio, Archbishop of Bogotá. The service is expected to draw presidential candidates from Colombia’s centrist and right-wing parties as well as members of the international diplomatic corps.
President Petro is not expected to attend the funeral mass, nor anyone from his cabinet. Petro’s response to the assassination has also drawn sharp criticism from across the political divide. While Bogotá Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán declared three days of official mourning in the capital – a gesture many saw as befitting the gravity of the murder of a prominent national leader – Petro limited the national observance to a single day. The contrast once again reveals the president’s unwillingness to unite the nation in a moment of shared grief.
Speaking outside the Capitol moments before her husband’s casket arrived, María Claudia Tarazona called for “love, unity, and peace,” urging that justice be pursued “swiftly but without vengeance.” Her words came amid widespread anger over the assassination, which many fear could reignite political violence not seen in Colombia for decades.
The ceremony ended with a collective prayer and a solemn moment in which Uribe Turbay’s father embraced his son’s coffin as the military bugle call Toque de Silencio echoed through the chamber – a dramatic scene that evoked the generational pain suffered by all Colombians. Uribe Turbay’s mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was killed in 1991 during a botched rescue operation after being kidnapped by the henchmen of the Medellín Cartel’s “Extraditables”. Miguel Uribe was the same age back then, as his son, Alejandro, is today.
The U.S. attendance, combined with high-profile calls for justice from Washington – shows that Uribe Turbay’s killing is being treated not only as a Colombian tragedy, but as a matter of hemispheric concern. The visit comes just days after President Petro expressed solidarity with Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, following a U.S. decision to double its reward to US$50 million for information leading to his arrest for being “one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world,” stated U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, Maduro will not escape justice and he will be held accountable for his despicable crimes,” noted Bondi during a video broadcast, claiming also, that the Justice Department has seized more than US$700 million in assets linked to Maduro, including two private jets, and nearly seven tons of seized cocaine. “Maduro is the head of the vicious Cartel de Los Soles, a narco-terror organization which has taken over Venezuela. Maduro MUST be brought to justice,” affirmed Secretary Rubio.
