In a poignant and determined bid to honor his murdered son’s legacy, Miguel Uribe Londoño, 72, launched his presidential campaign on Tuesday outside Colombia’s congressional building in Bogota. Standing behind the same campaign logo used by his late son, former senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe, who was fatally shot at a political rally earlier this year, Uribe Londoño vowed to build a safer, more unified Colombia.
“Together, we can create a secure Colombia where people walk without fear and businesses thrive free from extortion,” Uribe Londoño declared, addressing a crowd in the capital. He envisioned a democratic nation that bridges divides between rich and poor, left and right, rejecting the polarization he attributes to President Gustavo Petro’s administration. His speech resonated with a nation grappling with escalating violence driven by rebel groups and drug cartels vying for control of territories left by the FARC after their 2016 peace deal.
A former Bogota city councilor and Conservative Party senator in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Uribe Londoño had not previously aspired to the presidency. His prominence surged after delivering a powerful eulogy at his son’s televised funeral, where he decried Colombia’s “descent into madness” under Petro’s leadership. Now, as one of five candidates for the Democratic Center party, he aims to reinvigorate the conservative movement, which has struggled amid corruption allegations against its leader, former President Alvaro Uribe (no relation).
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Political analyst Sergio Guzman noted that Uribe Londoño’s candidacy “reinvigorates” the Democratic Center, particularly as he embodies the pain of victims, including conservatives, having also lost his wife to murder in the 1990s. The party plans to select its final candidate later this year through opinion polls.
Colombia’s security crisis looms large over the campaign, with recent attacks—such as a car bomb killing seven outside a military base and a rebel-downed helicopter claiming 13 police officers—highlighting the growing threat of FARC holdouts and drug gangs. Critics argue that Petro’s ceasefire-driven peace talks have emboldened these groups, yielding little progress. Uribe Londoño, speaking as a grieving father, positioned himself as a voice for those affected by violence, stating, “I am not the only father who has lost what he loved most, but I want to be the last to face this cruel destiny imposed by terror.”
His campaign promises to tackle crime, unify the nation, and restore economic stability, drawing on his son’s vision for a prosperous Colombia. As the 2026 elections approach, Uribe Londoño’s candidacy offers a rallying cry for conservatives and a deeply personal mission to transform grief into action for a beleaguered nation.
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