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France 24
2 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
Colombian ex-president to learn fate in witness tampering case
The 73-year-old, who was president from 2002 to 2010, is charged with "bribery of witnesses" in a separate investigation against him, and risks a 12-year prison sentence in the highly politicized case. The matter dates to 2012, when Uribe accused leftist senator Ivan Cepeda before the Supreme Court of hatching a plot to falsely link him to right-wing paramilitary groups involved in Colombia's long-standing armed conflict. The court decided against prosecuting Cepeda and turned its sights on his claims against Uribe instead. Paramilitary groups emerged in the 1980s in Colombia to fight Marxist guerrillas that had taken up arms against the state two decades earlier with the stated goal of combating poverty and political marginalization, especially in rural areas. The plethora of armed groups adopted cocaine as their main source of income, the genesis of a rivalry for resources and trafficking that continues to pit them against each other and the state. Uribe was a politician on the right of the political spectrum -- like all Colombian presidents before current leader Gustavo Petro, who unseated Uribe's Centro Democratico party in 2022 elections. Uribe on Sunday gave an hourlong speech in his native Medellin in which he criticized the left-leaning Petro administration. "We need an enormous victory in the coming year," Uribe said, in reference to presidential elections that will be held in 2026. During his tenure, Uribe led a relentless military campaign against drug cartels and the FARC guerrilla army that signed a peace deal with his successor Juan Manuel Santos in 2016. After Cepeda accused him of having had ties to paramilitary groups responsible for human rights violations, Uribe is alleged to have contacted jailed ex-fighters to lie for him. He claims he only wanted to convince them to tell the truth. In 2019, thousands protested in Bogota and Medellin when Uribe -- who remains a prominent voice on the right -- was indicted in the case. More than 90 witnesses testified in his trial, which opened in May 2024. 'Vengeance' The investigation against Uribe began in 2018 and has had numerous twists and turns, with several attorneys general seeking to close the case. It gained new impetus under Attorney General Luz Camargo, picked by Petro -- himself a former guerrilla and a political arch-foe of Uribe. Prosecutors claim to have evidence from at least one paramilitary ex-fighter who claims to have been contacted by Uribe to change his story. The former president is also under investigation in other matters. He has testified before prosecutors in a preliminary probe into a 1997 paramilitary massacre of small-scale farmers when he was governor of the western Antioquia department. A complaint has also been filed against him in Argentina, where universal jurisdiction allows for the prosecution of crimes committed anywhere in the world. That complaint stems from Uribe's alleged involvement in the more than 6,000 executions and forced disappearances of civilians by the military when he was president.
Int'l Business Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Colombian Ex-president To Learn Fate In Witness Tampering Case
Colombian ex-president Alvaro Uribe will learn his fate Monday in a witness tampering case that saw him become the South American country's first-ever former head of state to be put on trial. The 73-year-old, who was president from 2002 to 2010, is charged with "bribery of witnesses" in a separate investigation against him, and risks a 12-year prison sentence in the highly politicized case. The matter dates to 2012, when Uribe accused leftist senator Ivan Cepeda before the Supreme Court of hatching a plot to falsely link him to right-wing paramilitary groups involved in Colombia's long-standing armed conflict. The court decided against prosecuting Cepeda and turned its sights on his claims against Uribe instead. Paramilitary groups emerged in the 1980s in Colombia to fight Marxist guerrillas that had taken up arms against the state two decades earlier with the stated goal of combating poverty and political marginalization, especially in rural areas. The plethora of armed groups adopted cocaine as their main source of income, the genesis of a rivalry for resources and trafficking that continues to pit them against each other and the state. Uribe was a politician on the right of the political spectrum -- like all Colombian presidents before current leader Gustavo Petro, who unseated Uribe's Centro Democratico party in 2022 elections. Uribe on Sunday gave an hourlong speech in his native Medellin in which he criticized the left-leaning Petro administration. "We need an enormous victory in the coming year," Uribe said, in reference to presidential elections that will be held in 2026. During his tenure, Uribe led a relentless military campaign against drug cartels and the FARC guerrilla army that signed a peace deal with his successor Juan Manuel Santos in 2016. After Cepeda accused him of having had ties to paramilitary groups responsible for human rights violations, Uribe is alleged to have contacted jailed ex-fighters to lie for him. He claims he only wanted to convince them to tell the truth. In 2019, thousands protested in Bogota and Medellin when Uribe -- who remains a prominent voice on the right -- was indicted in the case. More than 90 witnesses testified in his trial, which opened in May 2024. The investigation against Uribe began in 2018 and has had numerous twists and turns, with several attorneys general seeking to close the case. It gained new impetus under Attorney General Luz Camargo, picked by Petro -- himself a former guerrilla and a political arch-foe of Uribe. Prosecutors claim to have evidence from at least one paramilitary ex-fighter who claims to have been contacted by Uribe to change his story. The former president is also under investigation in other matters. He has testified before prosecutors in a preliminary probe into a 1997 paramilitary massacre of small-scale farmers when he was governor of the western Antioquia department. A complaint has also been filed against him in Argentina, where universal jurisdiction allows for the prosecution of crimes committed anywhere in the world. That complaint stems from Uribe's alleged involvement in the more than 6,000 executions and forced disappearances of civilians by the military when he was president. Uribe insists his trial is a product of "political vengeance."
CNN
11-06-2025
- Politics
- CNN
LAPD pull CNN crew through police line as they disperse protesters
LAPD pull CNN crew through police line as they disperse protesters Tensions were high in downtown Los Angeles, as authorities tried to quell a fifth day of anti-ICE protests. CNN Senior Investigative Correspondent Kyung Lah was reporting on the ground. 01:32 - Source: CNN Vertical Top News 14 videos LAPD pull CNN crew through police line as they disperse protesters Tensions were high in downtown Los Angeles, as authorities tried to quell a fifth day of anti-ICE protests. CNN Senior Investigative Correspondent Kyung Lah was reporting on the ground. 01:32 - Source: CNN Tanks arrive in DC ahead of US Army parade As the 250th anniversary celebration for the US Army approaches, a freight train of tanks was seen making its way into the nation's capital. The long-planned celebration in Washington will coincide with Trump's 79th birthday and include thousands of troops. The Army had said it has no plans to recognize the president's birthday. 00:40 - Source: CNN Colombian presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe shot in Bogota A Colombian senator and presidential hopeful is in a critical condition after being shot twice at an event in Bogota, according to national police and prosecutors. Police arrested a 15-year-old carrying a Glock pistol, according to the Attorney General's Office. Miguel Uribe expressed intentions to run in the 2026 presidential election for the country's largest opposition party, the center-right Centro Democrático, or Democratic Center. 01:05 - Source: CNN Immigration protests break out in Los Angeles President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to disperse the protests that began in the Los Angeles area in response to immigration raids. Law enforcement authorities and demonstrators have clashed for two days. CNN's Julia Vargas Jones reports. 01:34 - Source: CNN Coco Gauff reacts to winning the French Open Coco Gauff claimed her second career grand slam singles title, defeating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the French Open women's final. 00:46 - Source: CNN Protesters confront authorities following ICE raids in Los Angeles Federal immigration operations in Los Angeles were met by protests. ICE declined to discuss the details of its operations. 00:43 - Source: CNN Attorney for mistakenly deported man talks to Erin Burnett CNN's Erin Burnett talks with Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, attorney for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March, who has been returned to the United States to face federal criminal charges. 02:37 - Source: CNN Trump Admin targets LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month CNN's Ben Hunte breaks down how the Trump Administration has targeted the LGBTQ+ community with its policies in just the first few days of Pride Month. 02:09 - Source: CNN Former 'Diddy' girlfriend reveals 'love contract' A former romantic partner for Sean 'Diddy' Combs using the pseudonym 'Jane' described feeling financially coerced and revealed Combs is still paying for her rent, even as she testified against him at trial. Prosecutors hope the testimony by 'Jane' will drive home charges that include sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges. 01:30 - Source: CNN Trump's border czar on 3 US children leaving the country with their deported mothers White House border czar Tom Homan defended the Trump administration's move to deport three US citizen children last week. Homan told CNN's Priscilla Alvarez the children's parents, who were in the US illegally, made a "parental decision" to leave the country together. Gracie Willis, an attorney with the National Immigration Project, denies that the mothers were given a choice whether their children could remain in the US. 01:07 - Source: CNN Trump on Musk: 'The poor guy's got a problem' In a phone call with CNN's Dana Bash, President Donald Trump said he is 'not even thinking about' billionaire Elon Musk and won't be speaking to him in the near future. The comments come a day after Trump and Musk traded barbs on social media as their relationship deteriorated in spectacular public fashion. 00:43 - Source: CNN No aliens here: Research disputes possible 'signs of life' on another planet In response to hints of "biosignatures" found on a world called K2-18b, new research suggests there's a lot of uncertainty surrounding the exoplanet. CNN's Ashley Strickland reports on the ongoing scientific discourse around the search for extraterrestrial life. 00:43 - Source: CNN Reporter: Trump made $1 billion in crypto in 9 months CNN's Erin Burnett talks with Forbes Magazine's Dan Alexander about President Donald Trump's stunning ownership of billions of dollars worth of crypto. 02:19 - Source: CNN Russia launches strikes across Ukraine Russia launched waves of drones and ballistic missiles at multiple targets across a broad swath of Ukraine overnight killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv and wounding around 40 across the country. 00:32 - Source: CNN
Toronto Sun
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Colombia presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay fighting for life after assassination bid
Published Jun 08, 2025 • 3 minute read Miguel Uribe Turbay, centre in blue tie, a Colombian senator and presidential candidate for the right-wing Centro Democratico party, celebrates after voting against a labor reform referendum proposed by the government, in Bogota, Colombia, May 14, 2025. Photo by Fernando Vergara, File / AP Photo Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay remains in a critical condition after an assassination attempt on Saturday that recalled the political violence that roiled the nation in the 1980s and 1990s. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The 39-year-old opposition senator is out of a 'neurosurgical' operation and a procedure on his left thigh, but his condition remains extremely serious, according to a statement from La Fundacion Santa Fe de Bogota, where he is being treated. It declined to give a prognosis. Uribe's wife had said the 39-year-old opposition senator is 'fighting for his life' following the attack, which happened while he was campaigning in a Bogota neighbourhood on Saturday. A 15-year-old youth was arrested in relation to the shooting after being beaten up by a crowd, according to Attorney General Luz Camargo. The minor is currently receiving treatment in a medical centre, she said. Authorities recovered a 9mm Glock at the scene. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Uribe was was hit twice in the head, according to the Attorney General's office. In a national address, President Gustavo Petro said that investigators are trying to establish who ordered the teenage gunman to attempt the hit, and don't yet know the motive. The candidate had visited businesses in the Modelia neighbourhood, then was speaking to about 250 people when the gunfire broke out, according to local councilor Andrés Barrios, who was with Uribe at the time of the shooting. A person from his security team threw himself on top of Uribe, Barrios said in an interview with W Radio. The senator was put into a car, then transferred to a passing ambulance, Barrios said. The attack comes as illegal armed groups gain strength and taking more territory, emboldened by the failure of Petro's peace plan. The gunning down of a prominent candidate — a resurgence of a type of violence that had become much less common over the last three decades — could further shake investors' waning confidence in the Andean nation. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. At the peak of Colombia's drug cartel terror in the 1980s and early 1990s, four presidential candidates were assassinated, among other prominent Colombians. Uribe's own mother, the journalist Diana Turbay, was murdered by Pablo Escobar's Medellin cartel in 1991. Backsliding into Terror Uribe, a member of the Democratic Center party, has called for a tough line against the illegal armed groups that control cocaine production, and has repeatedly warned that Colombia is backsliding into terror. Just two days before he was shot, he said in a speech in Cartagena that the country is being 'dragged back to a past of violence.' Uribe has attacked Petro's policy of seeking 'total peace' through negotiations with guerrillas and the private armies of drug traffickers. The talks have so far failed to yield major demobilizations, while the groups have taken advantage of the relative lack of military pressure to expand. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. On Saturday evening, crowds gathered outside Fundacion Santa Fe, the hospital where Uribe is being treated. Some of those present chanted anti-government slogans. Petro's government condemned the shooting, and pledged to step up protection of candidates ahead of the 2026 presidential and congressional elections. In a statement, U.S. State Secretary Marco Rubio said the attempt was 'a direct threat to democracy and the result of the violent leftist rhetoric coming from the highest levels of the Colombian government.' The grandson of former President Julio Cesar Turbay, Uribe was educated at Colombia's Universidad de los Andes and Harvard's Kennedy School. He has also campaigned for a pro-business agenda, and opposes Petro's attempts to increase the role of the state in the economy. His mentor, former President Alvaro Uribe, to whom he is not related, defined him as a 'hope for the motherland', and said he was praying for his recovery. In 2023, a presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was gunned down in neighbouring Ecuador, where drug gangs have gained strength in recent years. Sports Sunshine Girls Canada Sunshine Girls Columnists
CTV News
08-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Colombian president vows to hunt ‘mastermind' behind shooting of political rival, after 15-year-old arrested
A security guard checks on an employee in Bogota, Colombia, Sunday, June 8, 2025, upon her arrival to the clinic where Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay is being treated after an assassination attempt. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia) Colombian senator Miguel Uribe, in the running to join next year's presidential race, is in a critical condition in hospital after being shot at an event in Bogota, allegedly by a 15-year old boy. The 39-year-old, from the center-right Centro Democrático – or Democratic Center – the biggest opposition party in the South American nation, had expressed his intention to run in next year's election. He was shot twice on Saturday afternoon in the capital's Fontibon district, according to the General Prosecutor's Office. Police said the 15-year-old was carrying a Glock pistol when he was arrested. Video footage showed the senator giving a speech to a crowd before multiple loud bangs rang out. He was seen lying on the ground as people around him fled. Police and civilians later rushed him to an ambulance. Uribe has entered 'the critical hours' of recovery after undergoing an initial surgical procedure, Bogota Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán said Sunday. 'He came out well from the surgery,' his wife told reporters in an audio recording after the operation, according to AFP. 'He fought the first battle and fought it well. He is fighting for his life.' Uribe's party said he was shot in the back while he was participating in a campaign event. In a broadcast statement Saturday evening, Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the attack and vowed to hunt down those responsible, suggesting other criminals may have been involved. 'No resource should be spared, not a single peso or a single moment of energy, to find the mastermind … Wherever they live, whether in Colombia or abroad,' said Petro. The president pointed to a pattern of Colombian criminals taking advantage of minors and promised an independent investigation to determine the 'intellectual authors' of the attack - speculating there may be a link to 'crime bosses' responsible for several political assassinations in the country. He expressed his hope that the opposition senator would survive and said politics should be 'free of violence.' Uribe's wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, posted a message on his X account asking for prayers for his recovery. 'Miguel is fighting for his life right now. Let us ask God to guide the hands of the doctors who are treating him,' she wrote. Santa Fe de Bogota Foundation, the hospital where he is being treated, said he was undergoing 'neurosurgical and peripheral vascular procedures.' 'Uribe's condition is stable, still in critical condition,' Attorney General Luz Adriana Camargo told local TV network Caracol TV. A political family Uribe comes from a prominent Colombian political family. He is the grandson of Julio César Turbay Ayala, who governed the country from 1978 to 1982, and died in 2005. The young politician's mother was Diana Turbay, a journalist kidnapped by drug traffickers from the Medellín cartel under Pablo Escobar, and murdered during a rescue operation in 1991. His grandmother, Nydia Quintero de Balcázar, is the founder of the organization Solidarity for Colombia. The Harvard graduate entered the Senate in 2022, after a career in local Bogota politics. He is identified with the right wing of Colombian politics, as the standard-bearer of the Democratic Center, championing security and foreign investment. In October 2024, he announced his presidential bid from the location where his mother was killed, saying that her death shaped his life. 'I could have grown up seeking revenge, but I decided to do the right thing: forgive, but never forget,' he said. With the presidential campaign still in its early stages, the Democratic Center has not yet chosen its official candidate. International condemnation The attack drew condemnation from the Colombian government and the Democratic Center, as well as former presidents and world leaders. Before Petro's address, the president's office released a statement 'categorically and forcefully' condemning the attack. 'This act of violence is an attack not only against the senator's personal integrity, but also against democracy, freedom of thought, and the legitimate exercise of politics in Colombia,' the Presidency said. Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez Suárez also announced a 3 billion pesos (US$730,000) reward for information that helps authorities track down those responsible for the attack. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington condemned the attack 'in the strongest possible terms,' calling it 'a direct threat to democracy.' He attributed it to 'the violent leftist rhetoric coming from the highest levels of the Colombian government' and urged the Colombian officials to dial back 'the inflammatory rhetoric.' President Petro later said he rejected 'opportunistic' attempts to use the attack for 'political purposes.' Uribe's Democratic Center party called the shooting 'an unacceptable act of violence.' 'We strongly reject this attack, which not only endangers the life of a political leader but also threatens democracy and freedom in Colombia,' it said in a statement. At least four former presidents – Ernesto Samper, Álvaro Uribe Vélez, Juan Manuel Santos and Iván Duque – issued condemnations. Centro Democratico is the party of both Uribe and Duque. Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa sent his prayers to Uribe's family, adding that 'we condemn all forms of violence and intolerance.' In the late 1980s and early '90s, when Uribe's mother was assassinated, Colombia experienced one of its worst periods of political violence, with the murders of several presidential candidates. Uribe is a prominent member of a new generation of politicians descended from victims of that violence, along with current Bogota Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán, son of former Liberal leader Luis Carlos Galán, who was assassinated in 1989. One of Uribe's greatest rivals in the Senate, María José Pizarro, is the daughter of Carlos Pizarro Leongómez, assassinated in 1990 while running for president of the leftist M-19. CNN's Billy Stockwell and Sofia Barruti contributed to this report. Mauricio Torres, Fernando Ramos, Chris Lau and Sebastian Jimenez, CNN
