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The Hindu
02-08-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Colombian former President Álvaro Uribe is sentenced to 12 years house arrest for bribery
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe was sentenced Friday (August 1, 2025) to 12 years of house arrest for witness tampering and bribery in a historic case that gripped the South American nation and tarnished the conservative strongman's legacy. The sentence, which Uribe said will be appealed, followed a nearly six-month trial in which prosecutors presented evidence that he attempted to influence witnesses who accused the law-and-order leader of having links to a paramilitary group in the 1990s. 'Politics prevailed over the law in sentencing,' Uribe said after Friday's hearing. Uribe, 73, has denied any wrongdoing. He faced up to 12 years in prison after being convicted Monday. His attorney had asked the court to allow Uribe to remain free while he appeals the verdict. Judge Sandra Heredia on Friday said she did not grant the defense's request because it would be 'easy' for the former President to leave the country to 'evade the imposed sanction.' Heredia also banned Uribe from holding public office for eight years and fined him about $776,000. Ahead of Friday's sentencing, Uribe posted on X that he was preparing arguments to support his appeal. He added that one must 'think much more about the solution than the problem' during personal crises. The appeals court will have until early October to issue a ruling, which either party could then challenge before Colombia's Supreme Court. The former President governed from 2002 to 2010 with strong support from the United States. He is a polarising figure in Colombia, where many credit him for saving the country from becoming a failed state, while others associate him with human rights violations and the rise of paramilitary groups in the 1990s. Heredia on Monday said she had seen enough evidence to determine that Uribe conspired with a lawyer to coax three former paramilitary group members, who were in prison, into changing testimony they had provided to Ivan Cepeda, a leftist senator who had launched an investigation into Uribe's alleged ties to a paramilitary group. Uribe in 2012 filed a libel suit against Cepeda in the Supreme Court. But in a twist, the high court in 2018 dismissed the accusations against Cepeda and began investigating Uribe. Martha Peñuela Rosales, a supporter of Uribe's party in the capital, Bogota, said she wept and prayed after hearing of the sentence. 'It's an unjust sentence. He deserves to be free,' she said. Meanwhile, Sergio Andrés Parra, who protested against Uribe outside the courthouse, said the 12-year sentence 'is enough' and, even if the former President appeals, 'history has already condemned him.' During Uribe's Presidency, Colombia's military attained some of its biggest battlefield victories against Latin America's oldest leftist insurgency, pushing the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia into remote pockets and forcing the group's leadership into peace talks that led to the disarmament of more than 13,000 fighters in 2016.
The Hill
01-08-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Colombian ex-President Álvaro Uribe is sentenced to 12 years house arrest for bribery
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe was sentenced Friday to 12 years of house arrest for witness tampering and bribery in a historic case that gripped the South American nation and tarnished the conservative strongman's legacy. The sentence, which Uribe said will be appealed, followed a nearly six-month trial in which prosecutors presented evidence that he attempted to influence witnesses who accused the law-and-order leader of having links to a paramilitary group in the 1990s. 'Politics prevailed over the law in sentencing,' Uribe said after Friday's hearing. Uribe, 73, has denied any wrongdoing. He faced up to 12 years in prison after being convicted Monday. His attorney had asked the court to allow Uribe to remain free while he appeals the verdict. Judge Sandra Heredia on Friday said she did not grant the defense's request because it would be 'easy' for the former president to leave the country to 'evade the imposed sanction.' Heredia also banned Uribe from holding public office for eight years and fined him about $776,000. Ahead of Friday's sentencing, Uribe posted on X that he was preparing arguments to support his appeal. He added that one must 'think much more about the solution than the problem' during personal crises. The appeals court will have until early October to issue a ruling, which either party could then challenge before Colombia's Supreme Court. The former president governed from 2002 to 2010 with strong support from the United States. He is a polarizing figure in Colombia, where many credit him for saving the country from becoming a failed state, while others associate him with human rights violations and the rise of paramilitary groups in the 1990s. Heredia on Monday said she had seen enough evidence to determine that Uribe conspired with a lawyer to coax three former paramilitary group members, who were in prison, into changing testimony they had provided to Ivan Cepeda, a leftist senator who had launched an investigation into Uribe's alleged ties to a paramilitary group. Uribe in 2012 filed a libel suit against Cepeda in the Supreme Court. But in a twist, the high court in 2018 dismissed the accusations against Cepeda and began investigating Uribe. Martha Peñuela Rosales, a supporter of Uribe's party in the capital, Bogota, said she wept and prayed after hearing of the sentence. 'It's an unjust sentence. He deserves to be free,' she said. Meanwhile, Sergio Andrés Parra, who protested against Uribe outside the courthouse, said the 12-year sentence 'is enough' and, even if the former president appeals, 'history has already condemned him.' During Uribe's presidency, Colombia's military attained some of its biggest battlefield victories against Latin America's oldest leftist insurgency, pushing the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia into remote pockets and forcing the group's leadership into peace talks that led to the disarmament of more than 13,000 fighters in 2016.
Euronews
29-07-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Former Colombian president convicted of witness tampering and bribery
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe has been convicted of witness tampering and bribery in a historic trial that shocked the South American nation. The ruling followed an almost six-month trial in which prosecutors presented evidence that Uribe tried to influence witnesses who accused him of links to a paramilitary group. The 73-year-old — who was president from 2002 to 2010 — faces up to 12 years in prison but a sentencing will be delivered in a separate hearing. He is Colombia's first-ever former head of state to be convicted of a crime. Uribe is expected to appeal the ruling, having maintained his innocence. He was not in court in the capital, Bogota, for the verdict as the judge has so far not ordered his arrest. The former president attended the trial virtually and could be seen shaking his head as the verdict was read out. Uribe is a polarising figure in Colombia, where many credit him for saving the country from becoming a failed state, while others associate him with human rights violations and the rise of paramilitary groups in the 1990s. Rubio criticises ruling In her ruling, Judge Sandra Heredia said there was sufficient evidence to find that Uribe conspired with a lawyer to persuade three imprisoned former members of paramilitary groups into changing testimony they had provided to Ivan Cepeda, a left-wing senator. Cepeda had launched an investigation into Uribe's alleged links to a paramilitary group. The case dates back to 2012 when Uribe filed a libel suit against Cepeda before the Supreme Court. However, in an unexpected twist, the high court dismissed the charges and instead began investigating Uribe in 2018. During Uribe's presidency, the Colombian army forced Latin America's oldest leftist insurgency, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), into remote areas and held peace talks which led to the disarmament of more than 13,000 fighters in 2016. Known for his work ethic and temper, Uribe still has many supporters in Colombia and is one of the fiercest opponents of the current president, leftist ex-guerrilla Gustavo Petro. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reacted to the ruling as it became clear that Judge Heredia would find the former president guilty of bribery. "Uribe's only crime has been to tirelessly fight and defend his homeland," Rubio wrote on Monday on X. "The weaponisation of Colombia's judicial branch by radical judges has now set a worrisome precedent." Colombian President Gustavo Petro defended the ruling. He wrote on X that "a solid justice system" would allow Colombia to emerge from violence. He added in another message that Rubio was interfering with Colombian sovereignty. "The world must respect Colombia's judges," Petro wrote. Heredia said that her ruling should not be interpreted as "a victory for anyone" but as "an act of justice". State crimes Critics blame Uribe for several state crimes. According to Colombia's Truth Commission, which was set up in 2017, more than 6,400 civilians were executed by the Colombian army and identified as members of rebel groups by soldiers seeking promotions during the conflict with paramilitary groups. This phenomenon reportedly peaked during Uribe's government. Prosecutors accused Uribe of sending lawyers to meet with imprisoned ex-paramilitary members and pressuring them to withdraw testimony they had given to Cepeda. During the trial, Uribe denied trying to manipulate the witnesses, but acknowledged requesting interviews with them as part of his preparation for the trial. He said this was also done to verify testimony that was also being used in a murder trial against his brother, Santiago Uribe, who was also accused of links to armed paramilitaries. Cepeda spoke to the press after the ruling and said he would continue to fight for truth and justice for the victim of Colombia's conflict. "No one can defy or sully the rule of law," he said.
Saudi Gazette
29-07-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Ex-Colombian president Álvaro Uribe guilty of witness-tampering
BOGOTA — Álvaro Uribe has become the first former Colombian president to be convicted of a crime. A court in Bogotá found the 73-year-old, who was president from 2002 to 2010, guilty of witness-tampering and a fraud charge. He was convicted of attempting to bribe witnesses in a separate investigation into allegations that he had ties to right-wing paramilitaries, responsible for human rights abuses. Each charge carries up to 12 years in prison. Uribe is expected to appeal the verdict, having always maintained his innocence. Uribe is best known for mounting an aggressive offensive against leftist guerrilla group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) during his tenure. He has always denied ties to right-wing paramilitaries. The former president sat shaking his head as the verdict was read out, AFP reported, in the trial that has seen more than 90 witnesses Secretary of State Marco Rubio has condemned the court's decision, accusing the country's judiciary of being former president's "only crime has been to tirelessly fight and defend his homeland," he wrote on the social media site, result comes more than a decade after Uribe was first charged in that time, he accused a left-wing senator, Ivan Cepeda, of a plot against him. Uribe claimed Cepeda wanted to falsely link him to right-wing paramilitary groups involved in Colombia's internal armed the country's Supreme Court dismissed the former president's claims against Cepeda, instead investigating Uribe for the former president was then accused of contacting jailed ex-fighters and bribing them to deny connections to the paramilitary groups - tampering with key said he had wanted to convince the ex-fighters to tell the groups emerged in Colombia in the 1980s with the stated goal of taking on poverty and marginalisation. They fought the Marxist-inspired guerrilla groups that had themselves battled the state two decades of the armed groups developed in the standoff made an income from the cocaine trade. Violent and deadly fighting between them and with the state has produced lasting rivalries for trafficking routes and was praised by Washington for his hard-line approach to Farc rebels – but was a divisive politician whose critics say did little to improve the inequality and poverty in the signed a peace deal with Uribe's successor in 2016 though violence from disarmed groups persists in Colombia. — BBC
Int'l Business Times
28-07-2025
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Alvaro Uribe: Colombia's First Ex-president Convicted Of A Crime
Alvaro Uribe, president of Colombia from 2002 to 2010, was wildly popular in rightwing sectors for his war on leftist guerrillas during a particularly vicious period of the country's six-decade-old conflict. Today, opinion polls suggest the 73-year-old remains the most trusted politician in the South American country confronting an upsurge in violence. Born to a landowner in the western Antioquia department, Uribe was elected to Colombia's highest office at the height of the conflict between guerrillas fighting poverty and political marginalization, rightwing paramilitary groups set up to crush the leftists, and the military. He is himself accused of having had ties to paramilitary fighters who often had the backing of agrarian elites. Uribe denies the claims, which are at the heart of his criminal conviction Monday for witness tampering. As president, Uribe adopted a hard line against the Marxist-inspired Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which he accused of killing his father in a botched 1983 kidnapping attempt. With US backing for his campaign, several FARC leaders were killed on Uribe's orders and soldiers were deployed en masse in operations that gave many Colombians a sense of security, although the violence never diminished. Uribe, a US- and British-educated lawyer who prides himself on being a workaholic who cannot sing, dance or tell jokes, counts a passion for horses among his few distractions. He is a staunch Roman Catholic who practices yoga in the morning and prays at night. Uribe entered politics after his father's death, serving as a senator, mayor of his hometown Medellin, and governor of Antioquia -- Colombia's most populated department. As president, he successfully pushed a constitutional change that allowed him to be re-elected for a second consecutive term -- a reform later overturned by Colombia's highest court. Arguing he needed continuity to see out his battle against armed insurgents and the drug trade they controlled, Uribe also tried, unsuccessfully, to secure a third presidential term. Uribe earned praise from Washington for his tough anti-drug policies and strong economic growth as president. Detractors call him an authoritarian who failed the poor. After his presidency ended, Uribe served another term in Congress from 2014-2020 and has continued campaigning for the political right and his Democratic Center party since then. He was instrumental in the choice of his successor: Juan Manuel Santos, who would go on to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts towards a peace deal with the FARC in 2016. For Uribe, this was the ultimate betrayal. His vehement rejection of the agreement that saw the FARC down arms in 2017 has been gaining ground as recent peace efforts have failed under President Gustavo Petro -- Colombia's first-ever leftist president, in office since 2022. A man of short posture and deliberate speech, Uribe is a divisive figure: loved and hated in equal measure. He is known for losing his temper, once being recorded insulting a journalist and threatening physical violence. Even fervent detractors recognize his oratory and administrative skills. But his legacy has been tainted by numerous corruption and espionage claims swirling around members of his entourage. Uribe is under investigation for more than 6,000 civilian executions and forced disappearances allegedly committed by the military under his command. He has also testified in a preliminary probe into a 1997 paramilitary massacre of subsistence farmers when he was governor of Antioquia from 1995 to 1997. During his life, Uribe claims to have survived 15 assassination attempts, including a rocket attack by former guerrillas on the day of his first inauguration. Uribe is married and has two grown sons who have had to answer claims that they rode on his presidential coattails to become successful entrepreneurs. His conviction on Monday made him the first former Colombian president to be found guilty of a crime. Supporters see him as a 'political martyr' AFP Uribe is a staunch Catholic AFP A man of short posture and deliberate speech, Uribe is a divisive figure: loved and hated in equal measure AFP
