The Latin American Report # 568

The death of Colombian senator Miguel Uribe, a promising opposition hopeful for the House of Nariño, resulting from medical complications after an armed attack he suffered during an electoral rally last June, is the main regional story highlighted by the media this Monday. Uribe, 39, seemed to have much left to offer in terms of political development, but a very young local hitman, under 15, took his life with a Glock, in a painful illustration of Colombia's sociopolitical conflict.

"The Presidency of the Republic deeply regrets the death of Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay. We express our most sincere condolences and all our solidarity to his family, friends, and loved ones in this difficult moment," said the office of President Gustavo Petro. The now-convicted—in a first instance court—former president Álvaro Uribe, who, despite the shared surname, has no relation to the murdered senator, took the opportunity to land a political punch. "Evil destroys everything; they killed hope. May Miguel's fight be a light that illuminates Colombia's right path," he expressed.

As for international reactions, the head of Foggy Bottom also issued a statement on the matter. "Deeply saddened to learn of Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe's tragic death. The United States stands in solidarity with his family, the Colombian people, both in mourning and demanding justice for those responsible," said Marco Rubio. The presidents of Guatemala and Paraguay also sent messages of condolence.

Who is behind this tragedy?

Although a reasonable amount of time has passed, the intellectual author and the motivations behind the attack that ultimately became fatal are still unknown. I find the deceit to which the material perpetrator of this tragedy was subjected very traumatic, because he had no way out of the situation—completely lacking the operational support of those who involved him in such an act of barbarity—to enjoy the millions they had promised him. Below I share a video via X in which he is seen shooting Uribe from very close range (he appears at the start of the footage, with long hair).

“We are fully aware that this young man who was apprehended is merely a material executor,” the Attorney General said at the time about the adolescent, who lives in a poor neighborhood in the western zone of Bogotá. “Sorry, I did it for money, for my family,” he was heard saying at the moment of his arrest. Because he is a minor, the law treats him differently, but many are calling for him to be tried as an adult.

Naturally, the attack is being linked to left-wing actors allegedly concerned about Uribe’s potential rise, or his position as senator, and in particular there is a preliminary—still not very firm—association with dissident FARC-EP groups. Uribe’s mother died in 1991 in an event also related to organized crime, during a failed rescue mission after she had been kidnapped by Pablo Escobar’s Medellín cartel.

Quick on Cuba

The informal exchange rate of the weakened Cuban peso against the dollar hit a historical record this Monday, reaching 400 units of the local currency for each unit of the world’s reference currency. This represents an increase of more than 1,000% compared with the rate at which the informal dollar market opened in 2021, after a new “freely convertible currency”— now practically dead—was approved that had parity with the U.S. dollar. This is evidence of a crisis of public confidence in the Cuban peso, driven by humongous macroeconomic problems, U.S. sanctions, and the State’s decision to dollarize part of the economy.

An interesting report from AP 👇