During the funeral of presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay, which took place this Wednesday, August 13 in Bogotá, one of the event's most important guests, a member of Donald Trump's administration, published a heartfelt message on social media.
Christopher Landau, U.S. Undersecretary of State, published an emotional text accompanied by images, through his X account.
“It was an honor to represent @POTUS and @SecRubio at the moving memorial service for Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, assassinated today in Bogotá, along with my friend, Senator @berniemoreno,” the diplomat began.
“This quick trip had a simple goal: to pay our respects to the family and the Colombian people,” he continued.
It was an honor to represent @POTUS and @SecRubio at the very moving memorial services for slain Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay today in Bogotá, alongside my friend Senator @berniemoreno. This quick trip had a simple goal: to pay our respects to the family and the…
— Christopher Landau (@DeputySecState) August 13, 2025
“In a difficult time, I wanted the good people of Colombia to know that they are not alone,” Landau said on social media during his visit to Bogotá.
Hundreds of Colombians gave their farewells to assassinated senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay with the highest honors, without the presence of President Gustavo Petro and his officials, at the request of the opposition leader's family.
Uribe Turbay died last Monday, August 11, from head wounds from a brutal shooting attack that occurred in June, in an assassination that revives the ghosts of the worst years of political violence, when five presidential candidates were gunned down in the 20th century.
“It is very disturbing that right-wing conservative candidates in many countries, including our own, have been the target of assassination attempts,” Landau said in an interview with the son of US President Donald Trump Jr., prior to his arrival in Bogotá.
"I was speaking out against the president of Colombia, who was a member of the communist guerrilla group, and he was attacked a couple of months ago, and then he died," Landau added, referring to Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay's work before his death, noting that Petro was a former member of the M-19 guerrilla group.
Present at the senator's tribute were Christopher Landau, U.S. Undersecretary of State; John McNamara, U.S. Ambassador to Colombia; and U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno.
"We need the intelligence agencies of friendly countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel to help military and police intelligence, judges, and prosecutors to clarify this assassination," read opposition leader Gabriel Vallejo in a speech written by former President Álvaro Uribe Vélez, who was not present due to his house arrest for a bribery conviction.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had called Colombian President Gustavo Petro “pretty erratic” in an interview with WABC radio. “We are very concerned about Colombia,” he said. “Unfortunately, the current president of Colombia, this Petro guy, is, in our opinion, someone who has been quite erratic in his decision-making and some of the things that he’s done,” he said, according to a translation of the interview shared by the State Department.
