He would later be appointed as major of the city of Girardot (1937), and then councilman in the town of Engativá in 1938 along with fellow politicians Alfonso López Michelsen and Álvaro Gómez Hurtado.

In response to an increase in guerrilla activity from the 19th of April Movement (M-19) and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, as well as to the Colombian Communist Party's attempts to extend its political influence and a 1977 national strike, a 1978 decree, known as the Security Statute, was implemented by Turbay's administration.

Human rights organizations, newspaper columnists, political personalities and opposition groups complained about an increase in the number of arbitrary detentions and acts of torture as a result.

Although the Security Statute allegedly benefited some of the counterinsurgency operations of the security forces, such as the capture of most of the M-19's command structure and many of the guerrilla group's urban cells, the measure became highly unpopular inside and outside Colombia, promoting some measure of public sympathy for the victims of the real or perceived military abuses whether they were guerrillas or not, and was phased out towards the end of the Turbay administration.

[6][7] In terms of foreign policy, the country moved to the right, showing itself to be an ally of the United States, first with President Jimmy Carter, and then with his successor, Ronald Reagan.

[8] The M-19's late 1980 takeover of the Dominican Republic's embassy, during which sixteen ambassadors were held hostage for 61 days, presented a complicated challenge to the Turbay administration.

[1][9] The incident soon spread throughout worldwide headlines, as ambassadors from the United States of America, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, Israel and Venezuela had been taken hostage, as well as Colombia's top representative to the Holy See.

In particular, former M-19 members, including Rosemberg Pabón, the commander of the guerrilla group's operative unit at the time, later recognized and respected Turbay's handling of the situation.

[12] He was honored by a state funeral personally led by President Álvaro Uribe and was buried at the Sacromonte Caves at Canton Norte, an army base in Bogotá.

In recent times, it was revealed that Turbay was the most prominent name included in Jimmy Carter’s Colombia Blacklist, which comprised corrupt politicians and officers profiting from the drug trade.