Latest news with #ÁlvaroUribe
Washington Post
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Álvaro Uribe, Colombia's former president, found guilty in bribery trial
BOGOTÁ, Colombia — Álvaro Uribe, one of the most influential and controversial leaders in Colombian history, was found guilty of bribery in criminal proceedings as well as procedural fraud on Monday in a witness tampering scandal, becoming the country's first former president to be convicted in a criminal trial. The 73-year-old former president, who led Colombia from 2002 to 2010, was credited with turning the tide of his country's 52-year civil war against leftist insurgents, and continued to wield outsize power as a senator and politician long after leaving office. But critics have long accused Uribe of ties to the country's right-wing paramilitary groups, which he has consistently denied.
BBC News
20 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Ex-Colombian president Álvaro Uribe found guilty of witness-tampering
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 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 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 2012. At 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 ties. 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 truth. Paramilitary 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 prior. Many 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.
The Hill
21 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Former Colombian President Uribe found guilty in bribery trial that threatens the strongman's legacy
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe on Monday was found guilty of witness tampering and bribery charges in a historic trial that gripped the South American nation and threatened to tarnish the conservative strongman's legacy.
CNN
21 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
Judge concludes that Colombia's ex-President Uribe committed crimes of procedural fraud and bribery
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe committed the crimes of procedural fraud and bribery in criminal proceedings, a judge said during the reading of a verdict in a case that began in 2018. Judge Sandra Heredia of Bogotá's 44th Criminal Court is still reading the ruling. Uribe has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He maintained that position throughout the 67-day trial, during which he clashed with Senator Iván Cepeda, of the ruling Pacto Histórico party. In 2012, Uribe had accused Cepeda of trying to link him to the creation of a paramilitary group — a charge Cepeda rejected — but the Colombian Supreme Court ruled that Uribe should be investigated for alleged witness tampering. This is a developing story that has been updated and will be updated. CNN's Michael Rios contributed to this story.
CNN
21 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
Judge concludes that Colombia's ex-President Uribe committed crimes of procedural fraud and bribery
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe committed the crimes of procedural fraud and bribery in criminal proceedings, a judge said during the reading of a verdict in a case that began in 2018. Judge Sandra Heredia of Bogotá's 44th Criminal Court is still reading the ruling. Uribe has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He maintained that position throughout the 67-day trial, during which he clashed with Senator Iván Cepeda, of the ruling Pacto Histórico party. In 2012, Uribe had accused Cepeda of trying to link him to the creation of a paramilitary group — a charge Cepeda rejected — but the Colombian Supreme Court ruled that Uribe should be investigated for alleged witness tampering. This is a developing story that has been updated and will be updated. CNN's Michael Rios contributed to this story.
