Rightwing presidential hopeful, who had multiple surgeries after shooting in Bogotá, has died aged 39

A Colombian senator who was shot in the head in June during a campaign event has died, his family has said.

Miguel Uribe, a potential presidential candidate from the rightwing opposition, was shot in Bogotá on 7 June during a rally and had multiple surgeries before his death.

Ex-leader convicted over efforts to sway testimony in case tied to country’s armed conflict

A Colombian court has found the country’s former president Álvaro Uribe guilty of witness tampering.

The 73-year-old, who served as president from 2002 to 2010, was convicted on Monday of trying to persuade witnesses to lie for him in a separate investigation. He faces a 12-year prison sentence in a case that has become highly politicised.

Elder José Arteaga Hernández in custody after the non-fatal attack on Miguel Uribe Turbay in a Bogotá park in June

The alleged mastermind behind the shooting of a conservative Colombian senator and presidential candidate has been taken into custody, almost a month after the attack, law enforcement authorities have said.

Elder José Arteaga Hernández, alias “Chipi” or “Costeño”, was arrested in the north-western part of the capital, Bogotá, on Saturday, national police director Maj Gen Carlos Fernando Triana told reporters. Authorities had previously accused him and other suspects of being near the Bogotá park where Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot on 7 June.

Gustavo Petro hits back after Álvaro Leyva accused him of going awol during official visit to France

A prominent Colombian politician and former minister has accused the country’s president, Gustavo Petro, of being a drug addict who allegedly went awol during an official visit to France.

In a damning letter to the South American leader, the former foreign minister Álvaro Leyva painted a dire picture of his one-time boss and ally, later publishing the text on his official X account.

Cúcuta imposes curfew as National Liberation Army (ELN) clashes with army in province bordering Venezuela

Residents of a violence-torn province in northern Colombia are bracing for further bloodshed as a conflict between rival armed groups spread to a regional capital in scenes residents said they had not witnessed since the cartel unrest of the 1990s.

The mayor of Cúcuta imposed a 48-hour curfew on the population of 1 million inhabitants in the hope of regaining control of the city after combatants of Colombia’s largest armed group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), attacked police stations with assault rifles and grenades and destroyed toll booths with car bombs.