Washington DC, June 8 -- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday condemned the attempted assassination of Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay.

Rubio directed Colombian President Gustavo Petro to protect the country from leftist "inflamatory rhetoric".

In a post on X, Rubio stated, "The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms the attempted assassination of Senator Miguel Uribe. This is a direct threat to democracy and the result of the violent leftist rhetoric coming from the highest levels of the Colombian government. Having seen firsthand Colombia's progress over the past few decades to consolidate security and democracy, it can't afford to go back to dark days of political violence. President Petro ...