Spanish
Bogotá.- The President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, canceled the trip he had planned to undertake this Saturday to Nice (France) to participate in the UN Summit on the Oceans, due to the attack perpetrated against Senator and pre-presidential candidate Uribista Miguel Uribe Turbay.
The Executive explained in a statement that "due to reasons related to the attack perpetrated this afternoon against Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, it has been decided to cancel the international trip that the President of the Republic, along with several of his ministers, had scheduled for tonight."
Uribe Turbay, 39, was shot this afternoon while giving a speech at a rally in a park in the town of Fontibón, in western Bogotá, and taken in serious condition to a medical center.The Government emphasized the seriousness of the attack and the need for the president to remain in the country.
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"The gravity of the events and the National Government's commitment to defending institutionalism and protecting all democratic actors in the country demand the immediate presence of the head of state and his government team in the national territory," the text states.
The president decided against traveling so that "all the necessary institutional actions can be prioritized in order to guarantee security, clarify the facts, and strengthen confidence in the rule of law."The Government also expressed its solidarity "with Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, his family, and the Congress of the Republic", and reaffirmed its "firm rejection of any form of political violence".
