Colombian ex-president Uribe guilty of witness tampering

Colombian ex-president Uribe guilty of witness tampering

A Colombian court on Monday found Alvaro Uribe guilty of witness tampering, making him the South American country's first ex-president to be convicted of a crime.

The 73-year-old -- who led Colombia from 2002 to 2010 -- was found guilty of asking right-wing paramilitaries to lie about their alleged links to him.

As the judge started reading out her verdict Monday, Uribe -- who attended the trial virtually -- sat shaking his head.

The still-powerful ex-president is expected to hear his sentence on Friday. He risks 12 years in prison.

The judgement brought rapid condemnation from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who decried "the weaponization of Colombia's judicial branch by radical judges."

A law-and-order hardliner, Uribe was a close ally of the United States and retains close ties to the American right. 

At home his popularity has waned as alleged rights abuses during his tenure have come to light.

Even before the ruling and Rubio's high-profile attack, a Colombian lawyers' guild asked for more protection for Judge Sandra Heredia, who is presiding over this case.

Colombia's leftist President Gustavo Petro shot back at Rubio's criticism and insisted the judiciary was independent.

Allegations "to the contrary were an insult that would not be tolerated", he said.

- Dirty war -

Paramilitary groups emerged in the 1980s in Colombia to fight Marxist guerrillas that had taken up arms against the state.

A plethora of armed groups that emerged in the standoff adopted cocaine as their main source of income -- the genesis of a deadly rivalry for resources and trafficking routes that continues to this day.

Uribe led a relentless military campaign against drug cartels and the FARC guerrilla army, which signed a peace deal with his successor Juan Manuel Santos in 2016 -- much to Uribe's chagrin.

After leftist senator Ivan Cepeda accused him of ties with paramilitary groups responsible for human rights violations, Uribe is alleged to have contacted jailed ex-fighters to lie for him.

The judge Monday found him guilty on two charges: interfering with witnesses and "procedural fraud."

- Popular politician -

Uribe remains popular in Colombia for his anti-FARC campaigns, and is still a prominent voice on the right. 

Recent opinion polls revealed him to be the South American country's best loved politician.

In 2019, thousands protested in Bogota and Medellin when he was indicted in the case, and on Monday, a smaller group of followers gathered outside the court wearing masks fashioned after his image and chanting: "Uribe, innocent!"

They clashed with a group of critics.

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.

More than 90 witnesses testified in the trial, which opened in May 2024.

Prosecutors produced evidence during the trial of least one paramilitary ex-fighter who said he was contacted by Uribe to change his story.

- 'Vengeance' -

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 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."

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Originally published as Colombian ex-president Uribe guilty of witness tampering