Alvaro Uribe’s bribery conviction!
Bogotá, Jul 28 (EFE).-
Former Colombian president Álvaro Uribe (2002–10) was convicted on Monday of bribery in criminal proceedings and procedural fraud, but was acquitted of simple bribery by Judge Sandra Heredia of the 44th Criminal Circuit Court of Bogotá.
“The court is obliged to find Mr Álvaro Uribe Vélez guilty of the criminal offences of bribery and procedural fraud,” the judge said.
Uribe, aged 73, is facing the possibility of going to jail after being found guilty of two crimes in a trial that he said is the result of left-wing persecution.
Uribe’s presence in Colombian politics is polarising, with both his supporters and opponents defending or attacking him with equal fervour.
After leaving the presidency with a popularity rating of 75%, he took refuge in his properties in the departments of Antioquia and Córdoba, but never lost sight of national events or the actions of his successors: Juan Manuel Santos (2010–2018), Iván Duque (2018–2022), and Gustavo Petro (since 2022).
Enemy of the guerrilla
Uribe was a lawyer by profession and was politically involved with the Liberal Party, from which he later separated. During his long career, he held various positions, including Director of Civil Aeronautics, Senator, Mayor of Medellín, and Governor of Antioquia, before becoming President in 2002.
After the assassination of his father, Alberto Uribe Sierra, at the hands of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 1983, fighting the guerrilla group became his obsession and the guiding principle of his government.
Scandals and legal troubles
The first accusations against him arose in the 1980s, when he directed Aerocivil, for the alleged granting of flight licences to people involved in drug trafficking.
Further accusations regarding alleged links with paramilitaries during his years as governor of Antioquia (1995–1997) later emerged, including one that indirectly links him to the El Aro massacre, in which 17 peasants were murdered in October 1997.
In 2009, it was revealed that the former Administrative Department of Security (DAS) had intercepted the telephone calls of magistrates, politicians, and journalists, which led to confrontations with the Supreme Court of Justice.
Then came the accusation of “false positives,” whereby military personnel executed civilians and presented them as guerrillas killed in combat to obtain rewards and permits.
These accusations emerged during his second term and have gained momentum in recent years amid investigations by the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), the tribunal established under the 2016 peace agreement with the FARC to try crimes committed during the armed conflict.
According to a JEP investigation released in February 2021, “at least 6,402 Colombians were victims of deaths illegitimately presented as combat casualties between 2002 and 2008,” a period coinciding with six of Uribe’s eight years as president. EFE joc/dgp
