Top U.S. diplomat Landau to attend Uribe funeral in Colombia

Aug. 12 (UPI) — Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau announced Tuesday that he will attend the memorial of Colombian Sen. Miguel Uribe Turbay, who died this week from gunshot injuries he sustained in June while campaigning against the country’s left-wing president.

The State Department announced Tuesday that Landau was traveling to Bogota to attend the memorial service for Uribe, a conservative politician who died from his injuries after being shot in the head during a campaign event in June. Landau’s visit comes as tensions between the United States and Colombia are high as the Trump administration has taken a more confrontational posture in Latin America.

Speaking on Donald Trump Jr.’s Triggered podcast on Monday, Landau said his attendance at Uribe’s funeral showed “our intense concern” about what he called the growing assassination attempts of right-wing candidates in multiple countries.

“You can’t have democracy if basically anybody who’s right of center becomes a subject of assassination attempts or outright assassination,” Landau said.

Landau said Uribe was killed while speaking out against Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who was formerly a Marxist guerrilla.

“There is not a single piece of evidence in the investigation that even suggests that the government is responsible for the murder of Senator Miguel Uribe,” Petro said in a post on X Tuesday, suggesting the killing was being politicized.

Petro has publicly clashed with President Donald Trump. He initially refused to take a deportation flight early in Trump’s second term and spoke out against what he said was possible U.S. military intervention in neighboring Venezuela.

Colombian authorities have arrested six people in connection to Uribe’s death but have not identified a gunman or a motive, according to The New York Times.

Landau said the Trump administration was taking renewed interest in “our own backyard,” taking a more aggressive approach to drug cartels in Mexico and against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who won a third term last year amid widespread allegations of fraud. The Trump administration is offering a $50 million reward for the arrest and conviction of Maduro for alleged involvement in drug trafficking.