Colombia stands united after attack on presidential candidate | Opinion

On June 7, Bogotá, Colombia, witnessed a violent assault on the principles of political participation and public safety.

Senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay, 39, was targeted in an attempted assassination during a public political event — three gunshots, in broad daylight, in the capital city. The assailant was just 15 years old. Uribe, who was shot in the head, remains in extremely critical condition.

The attempt on Uribe Turbay’s life was meant to instill fear. But it ignited something else: unity, defiance and solidarity. That is the real story, and it deserves to be told.

The act stunned our nation, piercing our collective memory. It echoed a past that we, as a nation, have fought so hard to overcome — a past of political violence we vowed would not return.

But let us be clear: This is not a story of descent, as there is no evidence that Colombia is unraveling into chaos. It is a sobering reminder of the fragility of peace and a call to action. A reminder that democracy should not be taken for granted — it must be defended every day, not just in institutions but in our conduct, our language and our collective will.

The attack was more than an assault on a political figure. It was a direct affront to the democratic right to speak, to differ, to gather peacefully. We stood together — across parties, ideologies and generations — with a single voice. Violence must not define our future — not in our streets, not in our words and not in our politics.

At that moment, we did not fracture; we united, and unity is the greatest act of democratic strength. But unity demands more than condemnation. It demands introspection.

We have too often allowed incivility to pollute our public discourse. We have permitted hostility to take root where dialogue should prevail. That must end now. The language of contempt must give way to the language of democracy — of disagreement without dehumanization.

In Colombia, we have known violence. But we have also known courage. The difference between then and now is our refusal to normalize conflict.

Across the country — in rural towns and urban centers, in communities like Cauca where former combatants and local leaders now build agricultural cooperatives — we are constructing peace, not just as an aspiration but as policy. We see it in young Colombians who are organizing, creating and voting, not in spite of adversity but in defiance of it.

The fact that the attacker was a child is a tragedy in itself, a 15-year-old, shaped by a context of exclusion and hopelessness. This is not only Colombia’s burden — it is a regional and global challenge. Vulnerable youth are being pulled into violence faster than politics are affording them opportunities.

The response cannot be cynicism. Politics must respond with strategy, inclusion and sustained action.

To Colombia’s youth: This is your moment, our moment. We have the power to choose dialogue over division, civic courage over despair. The arc of Colombian democracy bends not by force but by their voice, creativity and refusal to give up on institutions that must be made worthy of their trust.

We are not the Colombia of decades past. We are not perfect, but we are resilient and determined. We are a country that has bled, but also one that has built. And millions of Colombians still believe that ideas, not bullets, will shape our future.

We are asking our international partners to stand with Colombia as we, united as a nation, continue to defend our democracy.

Colombia is not descending; Colombia is standing for dignity and for life.

Laura Sarabia is Colombia’s minister of foreign affairs.