Overview
- Colombia’s Tribunal Superior de Bogotá revoked the August 12‑year house‑arrest sentence and cleared Álvaro Uribe of soborno and fraude procesal in a 700‑page second‑instance ruling.
- The panel excluded certain telephone intercepts of Uribe as illegal for violating privacy but accepted recordings involving his former lawyer Diego Cadena, who was convicted in a separate case.
- Judges found insufficient proof that Uribe instigated payments or benefits to witnesses Carlos Enrique Vélez, Eurídice Cortés and Juan Guillermo Monsalve, and they voided two fraud findings including the ‘Tuso’ Sierra episode.
- The ruling criticized the first‑instance methodology, saying it misapplied legal standards such as using ‘dolo eventual’ where ‘dolo directo’ was required and relied on flawed evidence valuation; one magistrate dissented.
- President Gustavo Petro condemned the decision as a cover‑up of paramilitary ties, while Uribe allies and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised it; victims’ lawyers and Iván Cepeda said they will file for Supreme Court review.