Colombian prosecutors on Friday formally charged former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe with bribing witnesses and fraud.
It would be the country’s first criminal trial against a former president.
Uribe is accused of “offering cash or other benefits to selected witnesses of criminal acts,” so that they would not tell the truth in a case that links him to paramilitary groups, a document presented by prosecutor Gilberto Villarreal said.
Photo: AP
The bribery and fraud charges arise from an investigation into Uribe’s alleged ties to right-wing politicians.
Uribe, 71, who was president from 2002 to 2010 and is still considered one of Colombia’s most influential right-wing figures, says he is not guilty and has sought to have the case dropped.
“I never sought to look for witnesses. I wanted to defend my reputation,” Uribe said during Friday’s virtual hearing.
Judge Sandra Heredia rejected his request to have the case scrapped, and Uribe faces a prison term of up to 12 years.
He said on Friday he felt hurt for being the first former president to have to defend himself in court.
Uribe also claimed to be the victim of a plot hatched by judges and “opponents” who used “illegal [telephone] tapping” to obtain evidence against him.
The matter dates to 2012, when Uribe, then a senator, filed a complaint against Colombian Senator Ivan Cepeda, whom he accused of hatching a plot to falsely link him to paramilitary groups.
However, the Supreme Court decided against investigating Cepeda, instead turning its sights on Uribe.
The investigation against Uribe began in 2018 and has had numerous twists and turns, with several attorneys general seeking to close the case.
It has gained new impetus under Colombian Attorney General Luz Camargo, who took over in March and was chosen by Colombian President Gustavo Petro — historically a foe of Uribe.
Uribe, still a prominent voice on Colombia’s right, was known for being tough on the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrillas and strongly opposed the historic 2016 peace accord that saw the Marxist rebels disarm.
Last month, he said that the trial was motivated by “political persecution, personal animosity, political vengeance, without evidence.”
The trial is set to resume on July 10.
Uribe is also being investigated in several other cases.
He testified before prosecutors in November last year in a preliminary probe into a paramilitary massacre in 1997 when he was governor of the 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 during his government’s crackdown on guerrillas between 2002 and 2008.
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
‘DISCRIMINATION’: The US Office of Personnel Management ordered that public DEI-focused Web pages be taken down, while training and contracts were canceled US President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday moved to end affirmative action in federal contracting and directed that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) staff be put on paid leave and eventually be laid off. The moves follow an executive order Trump signed on his first day ordering a sweeping dismantling of the federal government’s diversity and inclusion programs. Trump has called the programs “discrimination” and called to restore “merit-based” hiring. The executive order on affirmative action revokes an order issued by former US president Lyndon Johnson, and curtails DEI programs by federal contractors and grant recipients. It is using one of the