Confusion over arrest linked to slaying of Colombian senator

Authorities in Argentina on Tuesday arrested a man after identifying him as a participant in the assassination of the Colombian presidential hopeful Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay – although officials in that country denied the claim.

Prosecutors in Colombia assured the AFP news agency that there is some confusion with another case.

The Security Ministry announced last Wednesday that the arrested man, Brayan Ferney Cruz Castillo, was allegedly one of those responsible for the logistics behind the slaying of Senator Uribe, who was shot in Bogotá on June 7, 2025 and died of his wounds two months later.

The Colombian police referred to the captured man as «a relevant piece within the investigation of the magnicide» while maintaining that he would be probed by a specialised police department not linked to the prosecution.

According to a police communiqué, the arrested man was directly linked» to a woman with the alias of Gabriela, convicted for Uribe’s death.

Uribe Turbay, 39, was a leading candidate of the centre-right opposition to replace leftist President Gustavo Petro in this year’s elections.

According to the Security Ministry, Cruz Castillo fled to Argentina following the attack, prompting an Interpol Red Notice at the request of the Colombian authorities.

But a spokesperson of the Colombian prosecution told AFP in Bogotá that there was some confusion as to the case for which Cruz Castillo was sought.

According to that source he is wanted for an «attempted terrorist attack» in the same month against a former FARC guerrilla who signed the 2016 peace treaty and not for killing Uribe Turbay.

Cruz Castillo was arrested last Tuesday at the downtown central courthouse where he presented himself in connection with a previous case of car theft, leading to his capture in a joint operation of Interpol and the Federal Police.

The Colombian prosecution affirms that FARC dissidents headed by Iván Márquez, the former second-in-command of the guerrilla force, financed Uribe’s assassination. Nine people have been arrested for the crime, including the youth who shot him.

– TIMES/AFP

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