Colombia: Suspect held in attack on presidential candidate
By James Blears
A fourteen year old youth shot Senator Miguel Uribe in the head twice, on June 7th at Golfito Park in the Capitol Bogota.
At the scene, the boy shouted: ''Im sorry. I did it for the money for my family.'' He was pursued and arrested after being shot in the foot. He is pleading not guilty to attempted murder.
Organized crime often recruits teenage gunmen, as they face shorter prison sentences if caught. In the latest development, police have arrested Elder Jose Arteaga Hernandez, who they are accusing of persuading the boy to pull the trigger. He is the fifth person to be arrested in this case.
National police chief Carlos Fernando Triana is accusing him of hiring the youth and supplying the weapon. Miguel Uribe, aged 39, was seeking the presidential nomination of the conservative Center Party, which wants to crack down on crime and drug trafficking. The presidential election is next year. He underwent an operation by a neurosurgeon, but then had to undergo a second operation to stem bleeding on the brain. His condition is still critical.
Miguel Uribes' mother Diana Turbay, a journalist, was murdered in 1991, in a failed attempt by Police to rescue her from the Medellin drug cartel who had kidnapped her. His grandfather Julio Cesar Turbay was the 25th president of Colombia from 1978 to 1982.
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