
Former Colombian President Uribe found guilty in bribery trial that threatens the strongman's legacy
The ruling was announced by a judge in Bogota, the country's capital, following a nearly six-month trial in which prosecutors presented evidence that Uribe attempted to influence witnesses who accused the law and order leader of having links to a paramilitary group founded by ranchers in the 1990s.
In a lengthy ruling that lasted more than ten hours, Judge Sandra Heredia said there was enough evidence to determine that Uribe conspired with a lawyer, to coax three former members of paramilitary groups who were in prison into changing testimony they had provided to Ivan Cepeda, a left-wing senator who had launched a probe into Uribe's alleged ties to a paramilitary group.
The case dates back to 2012, when Uribe filed a libel suit against Cepeda, with the Supreme Court. But in a surprise twist the high court dismissed charges against Cepeda and launched an investigation against Uribe in 2018.
Uribe faces up to 12 years in prison for the crimes he has been charged with. A sentencing will be delivered in a separate hearing. The former president is expected to appeal the ruling in a high court.

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New York Post
23 minutes ago
- New York Post
Young adults are less likely to follow politics or say voting is important, new AP poll shows
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mairekk Griffiths, a 26-year-old cook in a Denver suburb, doesn't think he'll ever pay a lot of attention to U.S. politics unless radical change happens. 'If another party was likely to win, I'd be interested in that,' said Griffiths, who voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in last year's presidential race but, like many his age, does not see voting as that valuable. 'I can't say either way that voting matters,' Griffiths said. 'It's just picking the least bad option. That's what I remember my whole life — both sides are bad, but this side is less bad.' 3 College students at a voter registration table. AP Young people such as Griffiths are less engaged with U.S. politics than older Americans and less likely to say voting is important, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Young people — even those who follow politics closely — are less likely to say issues such as the economy, government spending and health care are 'extremely important' to them than comparable older adults. The findings point to a broad sense of disillusionment among younger people about the country's political system — even if, like Griffiths, they still end up casting a ballot. Alberto Medina, who leads the Center for Information and Research on Civic Engagement at Tufts University, which studies youth and politics, noted that turnout among young people hit record levels in the 2020 election and was high last year. 'There's a sense that democracy isn't working for young people. There's a lack of belief that democracy is even able to improve their lives,' Medina said. 'At the same time, we have been living in an era of high youth voting.' Disengagement from political parties and politics In another sign of their general estrangement from politics, the poll shows young adults are more likely to reject political party labels. About one-third of adults under age 30 identify as political independents who don't lean toward either major political party, compared with 17% of Americans age 60 or older. The poll also finds young people are far less likely to follow politics closely than older adults are. 3 In another sign of their general estrangement from politics, the poll shows young adults are more likely to reject political party labels. AP Only about 2 in 10 of adults under age 30 say they follow U.S. politics 'extremely' or 'very' closely, compared with about one-third of Americans overall. That's even higher among adults age 60 or older — 45% of this group says they follow U.S. politics at least very closely. Disengagement is higher among teenagers, with an AP-NORC poll from May finding 44% of teens ages 13 to 17 report following U.S. politics 'not very closely' or 'not closely at all.' Meanwhile, about two-thirds of adults under age 30 say it's 'extremely' or 'very' important to vote, compared with almost 9 in 10 over age 45 who say it's at least 'very' important to vote. Some of these habits could shift as people grow older. Younger people traditionally are less likely to vote than older people, and voter participation tends to go up with age. It's possible that engagement with politics could follow a similar pattern. Brittany Diaz, 28, follows politics closely for an unusual reason: Her oldest son, who is 7, is obsessed with the news and watches it every night. Diaz, a Republican who lives in an Albuquerque, New Mexico, suburb, acknowledges that she's unusual among her age group because she decided to start paying attention to politics when she had her first child at 20. 'Now that I have kids, I'm like, 'I need to care,'' she said. In closely following politics, Diaz is different from many other women under 30. Women in her age group are less likely than young men to say they follow U.S. politics, the poll finds. About one-quarter of men under 30 say they follow politics 'extremely' or 'very' closely, compared with 16% of women in the same age group. And about 4 in 10 young women say they follow U.S. politics 'not very closely' or 'not closely at all' compared with about a quarter of young men. Lower investment in key issues On a few issues, such as the economy and health care, the divide between the youngest and oldest Americans isn't large. About 8 in 10 Americans under age 30 say the economy is 'extremely' or 'very' important to them personally, compared with about 9 in 10 Americans age 60 or older. 3 In closely following politics, Diaz is different from many other women under 30. AP But older adults are much likelier to say topics that have taken center stage during the first six months of President Donald Trump's second term — including immigration and government spending — are 'extremely' or 'very' important to them personally compared with Americans under 30. That's even true for topics such as the situation in the Middle East, which has become a rallying cry for young activists since the Israel-Hamas war broke out. Only about 4 in 10 adults under 30 say this is highly important to them personally, compared with about 6 in 10 Americans age 60 or older. For some, that lack of interest could be related to a sense that the political system doesn't respond to their needs. At 18, Blake Marlar is just starting to pay attention to politics. As Trump's tax cut and spending bill moved through the Republican-controlled Congress, the aspiring geology major at the University of Nebraska emailed his state's two senators, both Republicans, objecting to its Medicaid cuts and increases in immigration enforcement funding. 'They didn't seem to take me seriously,' Marlar said. 'While I recognize they have to represent the whole state and the whole state doesn't agree with me, it could have been a different experience.' But he's resolved not to give up on politics: 'In the future,' he said, 'I'll do my part and vote.'


San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Ion Iliescu, Romania's first freely elected president after 1989 revolution, has died at 95
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Ion Iliescu, Romania's first freely elected president after the fall of communism in 1989, who later faced charges of crimes against humanity for his role in the bloody revolution, has died. He was 95. Iliescu, who held de facto military authority during the anti-communist revolt, assumed power after Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, and his wife Elena, were executed on Dec. 25, 1989. More than 1,100 people died during the uprising, 862 of them after Iliescu had seized power. He repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Twice re-elected, in 1992 and 2000, Iliescu had largely withdrawn from public life by 2017. In recent years, his health had declined. In 2019, he underwent heart surgery, and he was diagnosed with lung cancer in June. The hospital in the capital, Bucharest, where Iliescu had been receiving medical treatment since Jun. 9, said on Tuesday that he died at 3.55 p.m. local time after medics 'made all efforts to provide him the necessary care and treatment.' Romania's government also confirmed his death and extended its condolences to his family and those close to the former president. It added that it would announce plans for a state funeral soon. In a statement on its official website, Romania's Social Democratic Party, or PSD, which Iliescu founded, called it 'a very sad day for Romania.' 'A prominent figure of the Romanian Revolution and the history of contemporary Romania, Mr. President Ion Iliescu will remain for all of us a symbol of the politician and statesman,' the statement read. 'He had the courage to confront Ceausescu and his dictatorship, and directed Romania irreversibly on the Euro-Atlantic path.' 'He was a strong leader, loved by most, contested by others, as happens in democracy,' it added. In 2018, military prosecutors charged Iliescu with crimes against humanity for failing to prevent 'numerous situations' in which civilians were needlessly killed during the revolution. Prosecutors alleged he had spread false information through state media, creating a 'generalized psychosis' that fueled chaos and bloodshed. The charges against Iliescu, who served as a minister in the communist government until he was sidelined in 1971, refer to a five-day period during the uprising, after Ceausescu had fled Bucharest on Dec. 22, 1989. At the time of Iliescu's death, he had never been convicted, and the case remained open. In January this year, Iliescu's legal woes mounted when prosecutors charged him with crimes against humanity in a second case. Prosecutors allege he implemented policies that led to a violent crackdown on civilian protesters in Bucharest in 1990, who were demanding the removal of former communists from power. Iliescu had called on coal miners from the Jiu Valley to 'restore order' in the capital. At least four people were killed. Despite maintaining good relations with the Soviet Union until its collapse in 1991, Romania became a member of the NATO military alliance in 2004 during his last presidential term. After his last term ended, he served as a lawmaker in the Social Democratic Party, Romania's most dominant political party since communism ended 35 years ago. For two decades after the revolution, Iliescu was Romania's most consequential political figure who helped define the country's new democratic institutions and its Constitution, said Cristian Andrei, a Bucharest-based political consultant. 'His legacy spans from the one to oust Ceausescu to being himself a break in Romania's development and transition to full functioning democracy and market economy,' he told The Associated Press. 'He was later accused by a growing number of Romanians of being the continuator of the Communist apparatus … trying to hold on to power in an authoritarian-communist style.' After Nicusor Dan's victory in Romania's tense presidential rerun in May, Iliescu congratulated the new pro-Western leader in a blog post, noting that Romania 'is going through a complex period' and faces economic, social, and geopolitical challenges. 'Romania needs coherence, dialogue and a firm commitment to strengthening democratic institutions and its European path,' he said. 'I am convinced that you will exercise this responsibility with dignity and a sense of duty to the nation.'


San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Hezbollah threatens to resume firing missiles at Israel if it intensifies operations in Lebanon
BEIRUT (AP) — The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah warned Tuesday that if Israel intensifies its military operations against his group, the Iran-backed armed faction will resume firing missiles toward Israel. Naim Kassem's comments came as Lebanon's Cabinet was meeting to discuss Hezbollah's disarmament. Beirut is under U.S. pressure to disarm the group that recently fought a 14-month war with Israel and was left gravely weakened, with many of its political and military leaders dead. Since the war ended in November with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, Hezbollah officials have said the group will not discuss its disarmament until Israel withdraws from five hills it controls inside Lebanon and stops almost daily airstrikes that have killed or wounded hundreds of people, most of them Hezbollah members. Israel has accused Hezbollah of trying to rebuild its military capabilities. Israel's military has said the five locations in Lebanon provide vantage points or are located across from communities in northern Israel, where about 60,000 Israelis were displaced during the war. Since the ceasefire, Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for one attack on a disputed area along the border. In a televised speech Tuesday, Kassem said Hezbollah rejects any timetable to hand over its weapons. 'Israel's interest is not to widen the aggression because if they expand, the resistance will defend, the army will defend and the people will defend,' Kassem said. 'This defense will lead to the fall of missiles inside Israel.' Since the war ended, Hezbollah has withdrawn most of its fighters and weapons from the area along the border with Israel south of the Litani river. Last week, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reiterated calls for Hezbollah to give up its weapons, angering the group's leadership. The ceasefire agreement left vague how Hezbollah's weapons and military facilities north of the Litani river should be treated, saying Lebanese authorities should dismantle unauthorized facilities starting with the area south of the river. Hezbollah maintains the deal only covers the area south of the Litani, while Israel and the U.S. say it mandates disarmament of the group throughout Lebanon. Kassem said Hezbollah rejects a government vote over its weapons, saying such a decision should be unanimously backed by all Lebanese. The Israel-Hezbollah war started a day after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack against Israel from Gaza. It left more than 4,000 people dead and caused damage worth $11 billion.