Colombia’s Cabal Says She Was Never in Uribe’s Heart After His One-Line Farewell
POLITICS · COLOMBIA
Key Facts
- —The country Colombia, where Centro Democrático, the party founded by former president Álvaro Uribe, has been a main home of the right for more than a decade.
- —What happened Uribe answered María Fernanda Cabal’s 1 October resignation with one line on X: “always respect”. On 2 October she told El Tiempo she was “never in Uribe’s heart”.
- —Who is involved Cabal, a hard-right former senator with 12 years in Congress; Uribe, president from 2002 to 2010; and Paloma Valencia, a former senator and the party’s 2026 presidential candidate.
- —What it means for you No votes in Congress change, because Cabal holds no seat. The split shapes how Colombia’s right lines up for the 2027 regional elections.
- —Still open The name and legal form of Cabal’s new movement, which she plans to present on Saturday, 3 October. No further comment from Uribe had been reported by Saturday morning.
Colombia’s former president Álvaro Uribe answered the Cabal exit from his Centro Democrático party with a single line on X. “For Dr María Fernanda Cabal, always respect,” he wrote, as KienyKe and El Tiempo reported.
Cabal, a hard-right former senator, quit the party on Thursday evening, 1 October, as The Rio Times reported on 2 October. By Friday evening her tone had sharpened, and she told El Tiempo she had “never” been in Uribe’s heart.
A one-line farewell and a polite reply
Uribe posted his message after the Cabal exit was announced in a video Cabal posted on social media. He did not mention the differences she had cited, Infobae noted.
Hours later Cabal answered on X, according to KienyKe and Colombia.com. “Thank you, president. All my respect. I will keep defending the convictions that united us. The road continues,” she wrote.
On Friday morning she told Caracol Radio that his words were welcome, Infobae reported. “The differences have already been discussed on air many times,” she said.
She also insisted the break was not a personal fight with Uribe. What could not be debated inside the party, she argued, “generated tensions in public”.
“Never in Uribe’s heart”
The tone hardened in an interview El Tiempo published on Friday evening. Cabal said the party was never going to let her be its presidential candidate.
“It happened four years ago and it happened now in this last election,” she said. She lost the nomination to Óscar Iván Zuluaga for 2022 and then to Valencia, Infobae noted.
“I feel that I was never in Uribe’s heart, and he always preferred Paloma Valencia,” she told the newspaper. She said the party never recognised her as the most-voted member in the history of Colombia’s Congress.
She added that her votes brought the party two extra seats, a claim El Tiempo did not break down. The newspaper reported that she has not spoken with Uribe since resigning.
Her case against the 2026 campaign
Cabal blamed the party’s 2026 defeat on a turn towards the centre. Valencia was knocked out in the first round on 31 May.
“When they chose Paloma Valencia and pushed me out, Abelardo went up four points,” Cabal said. She meant Abelardo de la Espriella, the right-wing lawyer who won the June runoff and became president on 7 August.
She also faulted the choice of vice-presidential running mate, saying the campaign neglected its own voters. She did not name a poll behind the four-point figure in the published interview.
She kept some warmth for the new government, saying De la Espriella is keeping his campaign promises. Centro Democrático, she said, now has to “reinvent itself” and decide how it speaks to its base.
A movement of her own on Saturday
Cabal says the next step comes on Saturday, 3 October. “I am starting a new political path, renewed, with its own name,” she told El Tiempo.
She wants it to field candidates in the 2027 regional elections and serve as a platform for the 2030 presidential race. “I aspire to be on the chessboard,” she said.
Her husband, José Félix Lafaurie, head of the cattle ranchers’ federation Fedegán, left the party in February. For now the Cabal exit has been handled politely in public on both sides.
What Is Not Yet Known
The name, leaders and legal form of Cabal’s movement were not public as of Saturday morning. It is unclear whether she will seek full party status before the 2027 regional elections.
It is also not known whether any sitting Centro Democrático lawmakers will follow her. No further comment from Uribe, beyond his one-line post, had been reported by Saturday morning.
Sources: KienyKe, 2 October 2026; El Tiempo, 2 October 2026; El Tiempo, 2 October 2026; Infobae, 2 October 2026; Infobae, 2 October 2026; Colombia.com, 2 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief