In a political tone and calling for a great alliance that will return security to Colombians in 2026 was the speech given by Miguel Uribe Londoño, father of the assassinated senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, during his funeral this Wednesday, August 13, at the Primada Cathedral, in the Plaza de Bolívar in Bogotá.
And the person called to lead that alliance, according to the message from the parliamentarian's father, victim of a hitman attack on June 7 and who died in the early hours of August 11, was former president Álvaro Uribe Vélez, head of the Democratic Center.
"Álvaro Uribe saw and recognized in Miguel the leadership of the future, the new politics. And that's why he invited him to join the ranks of his party. Together they built concrete proposals to address the main ailments of their compatriots, as if they knew that time would be inexorable. Today, Miguel's ideas are more relevant than ever," said Uribe Londoño.
'This war has its culprits and those responsible'
According to Miguel's father, the war that took his son—the same one that took his wife, Diana Turbay—has its share of culprits and those responsible. However, he did not directly name the perpetrator, although Uribe supporters have questioned President Gustavo Petro for his constant attacks against the congressman and his family.
"The war that Miguel warned us about in each and every one of his speeches and that we didn't want to return, has returned and knocked on my family's door again. First, taking the life of my wife and now that of my son. Like our family, millions of our fellow countrymen will have to carry that profound pain for the rest of our lives," he stated in his speech.
And he added:"This war has culprits and those responsible. We know it. We have no doubt where the violence comes from. We have no doubt who is promoting it. We have no doubt who allows it. We have to stand up to this and say no more."
Call to 'stop the madness'
Uribe Londoño called for a "stop to the madness" Colombia is immersed in. The solution, he said, lies in the 2026 presidential elections.
"They silenced Miguel, but they won't be able to silence the voices of millions of Colombians crying out for change. We have a unique opportunity to stop this madness in 2026; let's not waste it. Only then will this cause have meaning. They assassinated Miguel, but they will never be able to assassinate his purpose. Ideas are indestructible, but they need to be materialized to change the history of a country," he asserted.
Call to Álvaro Uribe Vélez
Along those lines, he called on former President Álvaro Uribe Vélez to take up, through his party, the banners for which Miguel fought, which led to his death.
" Doctor Álvaro Uribe Vélez: you and your party supported the ideas of a great leader, today I return them to you and to all of Colombia to undertake the greatest struggle of all time for the restoration of peace in our country," stated the father of the murdered parliamentarian.
"We have an obligation to exalt and achieve the purpose to which he dedicated his entire life: a country without violence. His cause was security. This country will never leave where it is without security. A Colombia at peace for all Colombians, that must be our fight. The time is now. Let us organize with vigor and absolute determination that cause and in the coming months; let us choose and defend the overwhelming and unquestionable triumph of that leadership that takes up Miguel's banners so that security returns to Colombia," he added, but did not name any successors as such to Miguel Uribe Turbay, as Juan Manuel Galán did in 1989 when, after the assassination of his father, Luis Carlos Galán, he handed over the banners to César Gaviria, who won the presidency in 1990.
'Fight in national unity'
The key to that victory in 2026 will be national unity, and that was the call Uribe Londoño made in his speech.
"We cannot remain resigned and passive. Although pain and the thirst for revenge may cloud our judgment and tempt us to respond in the same way as those who attack us, I firmly call on you to act with our purest Colombian essence: that composed of serenity, intelligence, and responsibility," the senator's father read, adding that as Colombians, our historic responsibility is to remain united, despite the horror, to defeat the darkness that seeks to subdue and condemn us forever. That is what Miguel would have wanted us to do. Let us do it and fight together in national unity."
'Let the full weight of justice fall on you'
Miguel Uribe's father also demanded justice for his son and that all those involved be held accountable. Miguel's crime, he insisted, cannot go unpunished.
"As Miguel's father, I will always be heartily grateful for the prayers that millions of Colombians and people around the world offered up for my son. Miguel Uribe Turbay managed to unite Colombians of all political stripes in a single prayer of faith, a phenomenon we have not seen in our country for many years. It is no coincidence that this terrorist attack, an assassination that constitutes a crime against humanity, occurred just as Miguel was raising his banner of struggle: a Colombia that has security again, because only with security will we have peace. This crime does not expire over time, and we will dedicate all our efforts to ensure that, sooner rather than later, the full weight of justice falls on those truly responsible."
