Attack on Miguel Uribe Turbay: Distinguished group of 38 doctors rejects "barbarism" and political violence
A prominent group of 38 doctors from different regions of the country —including specialists, academics, teachers, and researchers— spoke out against the attack on Senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay , which occurred on the afternoon of Saturday, June 7, in Bogotá.
In a letter, the health professionals strongly condemned this type of action, describing the attack as an act of "barbarism."
"The undersigned physicians, who by their very nature care for the life, dignity, and well-being of people, firmly reject the moral degradation advancing in the country , where violence is instrumentalized, extremes impose their logic, and human existence becomes a resource for stalking obscure interests," the statement reads.
According to professionals, what happened to Uribe Turbay reveals what they call a profound ethical breakdown: "We have crossed a dangerous line as a society. Hatred is incited, confrontation is organized , atrocious acts are justified if they serve a cause, and even the most vulnerable are dragged into scenarios of destruction."
And they add: “We unequivocally denounce the use of any human being—and even more so a child—as an instrument of aggression… Justifying the act of ending lives for dark purposes or in the name of any ideology is, quite simply, the ultimate degradation of the human condition.”
This is the doctors' full letter against political violence and the attack on Miguel Uribe Turbay: The undersigned physicians, who by their very nature care for the life, dignity, and well-being of people, firmly reject the moral degradation advancing in the country, where violence is instrumentalized, extremes impose their logic, and human existence becomes a resource for stalking obscure interests.
The recent attack on a presidential candidate, carried out by a minor, has shaken the country for its brutality, but above all for what it reveals: a profound ethical breakdown. We have crossed a dangerous line as a society. Hatred is incited, confrontation is organized, atrocious acts are justified if they serve a cause, and even the most vulnerable are dragged into scenes of destruction.
We unequivocally denounce the use of any human being—and even more so a child—as an instrument of aggression.
That's not politics: it's barbarism.
Justifying the act of ending lives for dark purposes or in the name of any ideology is, quite simply, the ultimate degradation of the human condition.
Colombia cannot continue to advance down a path where contempt replaces dialogue, where violence is rewarded if it proves useful, and where life is reduced to a sacrificial pawn in soulless disputes. We are not talking about just an isolated incident, but rather a logic that has been established: one that normalizes destruction if it suits us, one that trivializes suffering if it inconveniences us, one that silences ethics when it hinders us.
That's why we speak out. Because we are doctors, but also citizens. Because caring for life isn't just a profession, it's a principle. Because we don't believe in any project built on bodies, nor in any silence that legitimizes horror. Because we still believe that this country can regain its meaning, if we are able to say enough.
"There are times when not speaking is a betrayal of life. This is one of them."
The signatories of the letter - Jairo Amaya Guio, ID: 6,764,738
- Guillermo Alfredo Vega Torres, ID: 19.415.504
- Ángel Alberto Castro Horta, ID: 19,480,227
- Iván Darío Molina Ramírez, ID: 19.407.360
- Pedro León Cifuentes Rodríguez, ID: 413.163
- Germán Maldonado Morales, ID: 19.438.233
- Jesús Fernando Ospina Arias, ID: 15.902.005
- Rodrigo Sánchez Méndez, ID: 11.428.147
- Julián Acosta Trejos, ID: 19.423.690
- Carlos Andrés Castañeda Isaza, ID: 7,301,391
- Cecilia Mogollón de Manjarrés, ID: 41.361.825
- Orlando Afranio Villamizar Galvis, ID: 13,459,776
- Jaime Bernal R., ID: 19.419.730
- Carlos Francisco Fernández, ID: 19.306.534
- Efraín Ardila Quintana, ID: 19.371.701
- Carlos Mario Pulido, ID: 396,702
- Víctor Luis Cardozo, ID: 19.348.054
- Francisco Bohórquez, ID: 19,451,213
- Mario Alberto Medina Nieto, ID: 19.268.154
- Raúl Contreras Bosh, ID: 13,453,194
- Hernando Macías Aros, ID: 18,916,083
- Julio Roberto Sepúlveda, ID: 19.294.315
- Meyer Serrano R., ID: 19.436.907
- Elizabeth Beltrán, ID: 41.725.733
- Alberto Villarreal Salazar, ID: 91.101.415
- Gloria Garay Ariza, ID: 51.619.536
- Brigadier Tirado Echeverri, ID: 17.630.830
- Luis Fernando Monroy Rojas, ID: 19.418.870
- Victor Cabrera Gonzalez, ID: 9,520,836
- Blanca Cecilia Gutiérrez Sierra, ID: 26,942,987
- Edgar Enrique Hernández Lizarazo, ID: 79.151.928
- Carmen Elisa González Prieto, ID: 41.782.254
- Florentino Carranza Bohada, ID: 19.305.896
- Lucía del Pilar Cortés Segura, ID: 51.678.957
- Luis Daniel Aldana Acero, ID: 19.429.458
- Julio Alberto Rincón R., ID: 70.412.095
- Luis Alberto Parra Obando, ID: 19.357.235
- Héctor Said Martínez P., ID: 19.182.767
MATEO CHACÓN ORDUZ | Deputy Editor, Today's Life
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