In the beginning of August, the Colombian senator and presidential candidate, Miguel Uribe Turbay, passed away after being shot twice in the head and once in the leg in June.
Now his father is taking over the baton and launching his own campaign to become president in the violence-stricken country.
I made this decision because I believe I can be a force that can help unite and save Colombia from the abyss they want to lead us to, he says according to El Tiempo.
The wife killed
Uribe Londoño has been a local politician in the capital Bogotá, but was not nationally known until he, with his son's death, took on a more public role.
During his son's funeral, he held a speech where he accused the country's current president, the left-wing politician Gustavo Petro, of dragging Colombia down into ruin.
He is one of five candidates who want to run for his son's party, the right-wing Centro Democrático. The party will choose a candidate later this year. The presidential election will be held in May 2026.
In August 1990, Uribe Londoño's wife, Miguel Uribe's mother, the journalist Diana Turbay, was also kidnapped by a criminal gang hired by the drug king Pablo Escobar. She was killed with a shot in the back during a failed rescue attempt.
New violence
Colombia has a past marked by violence between the government and various drug cartels and guerrillas. After the notorious Farc guerrilla laid down their arms in 2016, a cautious calm has prevailed in the country.
However, in recent times, breakaway groups from Farc have carried out violent acts, including murders, bombings and kidnappings.
I am not the first father to lose what he loved the most. But I hope I am the last father who has to accept the terrible fate that they want to impose on us with violence and terror, says Uribe Londoño to El Tiempo.
