Colombian ex-President Álvaro Uribe is sentenced to 12 years house arrest for bribery
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.
Uribe, 73, has denied any wrongdoing and characterized the case as 'political persecution.'
He faced up to 12 years in prison after being convicted on Monday. His attorney had asked the court to allow Uribe to remain free while he appeals the verdict.
Judge Sandra Heredia on Friday also banned Uribe from holding public office for eight years.
Ahead of Friday's sentencing hearing, 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 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.
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CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
Colombian ex-President Álvaro Uribe sentenced to 12 years house arrest for bribery
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.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Colombia: Ex-President Uribe gets 12 years' house arrest
Colombia's former President Alvaro Uribe was sentenced Friday to 12 years of house arrest for witness tampering and bribery in a case related to the country's prolonged civil war. The conservative politician was found guilty this week of paying jailed paramilitaries to retract testimony which connects Uribe to right-wing militia groups. In the decades since the outbreak of Colombia's civil war in the 1960s, paramilitary groups were responsible for mass killings, forced disappearances, and other atrocities. The conviction marks the first time a Colombian head of state has been found guilty in a criminal trial. What did the court rule? While prosecutors had demanded a 12-year prison term, Uribe was sentenced to 12 years of house arrest, fined $578,000 (€499,000) and barred from public office for more than eight years. The judge ordered Uribe to begin serving his sentence immediately at his rural estate in Rionegro, in northwestern Antioquia province. The ex-president's lawyers said Uribe would appeal the verdict. However, the court rejected Uribe's request to remain free while appealing the verdict, with the judge saying the former president might flee the country to avoid punishment. The 73-year-old politician has denied any wrongdoing. Following the Friday hearing, Uribe said "politics prevailed over the law in sentencing." What do we know about the case against Uribe? During a nearly 6-month trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Uribe and his brother had helped found the Bloque Metro paramilitary group in the 1990s. At the time, Uribe was the governor of Antioquia, a key battleground in the civil war. One former paramilitary, who worked on the Uribe family ranch, told the court he was offered bribes and legal favors to retract his testimony. Another testified that Uribe's lawyer offered him money to speak favorably about Uribe. The court found that the ex-president had been trying to discredit a rival who had exposed Uribe's alleged paramilitary ties and had been sued by the then-president for libel. The libel case was dismissed in 2018 and a probe into Uribe's alleged conduct began. Uribe's supporters dismiss the case as a vendetta by leftwing rivals to tarnish his legacy as Colombia's most effective anti-guerrilla leader. This sentiment seems to be echoed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said the trial was a "weaponization of Colombia's judicial branch by radical judges." Analysts have said there could be cuts to US aid to Colombia in response. In turn, human rights groups hailed the conviction as a landmark moment for accountability in Colombia's long history of impunity. What was Colombia's civil war? The conflict began in 1964 when leftist guerrilla groups like FARC took up arms, demanding land reform and social justice. Fueled by funding from the illegal drug trade, the war involved guerrilla fighters, right-wing paramilitary groups, and government forces, each committing widespread violence and human rights abuses. Under Uribe's rule, the conflict intensified. His hardline tactics against leftist guerrillas led to mass killings, paramilitary abuse, and forced disappearances. During the conflict, an estimated 220,000 people died and millions more were displaced. A truth commission found that over 6,400 civilians were falsely labeled as guerrillas and executed by the military during Uribe's administration — a scandal known as the "false positives." A 2016 peace deal between the government and FARC ended the war officially, transforming the rebels into a political party. However, violence in Colombia persists to this day, driven by fragmented armed groups, drug trafficking, and ongoing struggles over land and power in rural areas. Edited by: Darko Janjevic
NBC News
14 hours ago
- NBC News
Colombian ex-President Álvaro Uribe is sentenced to 12 years house arrest for bribery
BOGOTA, Colombia — 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.' peace talks that led to the disarmament of more than 13,000 fighters in 2016.
