BOGOTÁ: Colombian police probing the attempted assassination of a prominent right-wing presidential candidate arrested on Saturday a man they believe hired the teenager accused of pulling the trigger.
Elder Jose Arteaga Hernandez was described by police as a key planner of the June 7 attack on conservative senator Miguel Uribe, who remains hospitalized in serious condition.
Arteaga Hernandez organized “the before of the attack, the during, and the after,“ said police chief Carlos Fernando Triana Beltran.
Uribe, 39, was shot three times, including twice in the head, during a campaign rally in a park in Bogota.
Police have now arrested five suspects, including the 15-year-old alleged hitman.
Arteaga Hernandez, who has a long criminal record and a file with Interpol, coordinated the attack, hired the shooter and provided him with a gun, police said.
The shooter is believed to belong to a network of contract killers.
Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said that Arteaga Hernandez “had allegedly negotiated the execution of the crime” for the equivalent of about $250,000.
“He planned the cover, the movements, and even ordered one of his accomplices to be silenced after the incident,“ Sanchez posted on X.
Uribe’s attorney, Victor Mosquera, has said the probe had revealed a “structured organization” with a “history of attacks on right-wing leaders.”
Uribe, a member of the Democratic Center party, announced his intention last October to run in the May 2026 presidential election.
