Overview

• The verdict makes Uribe the first former Colombian head of state to be criminally convicted, concluding a decade-long investigation into his alleged paramilitary links.
• Judge Sandra Heredia found that Uribe persuaded witnesses to lie in his favor during probes into his connections with right-wing paramilitary groups.
• Uribe faces up to twelve years behind bars, with a separate sentencing hearing scheduled for Friday in Bogotá.
• His defense lawyers have announced plans to appeal the conviction to Colombia’s Supreme Court of Justice.
• U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the ruling as an instrumentalization of the judiciary by “radical judges,” calling it a concerning precedent.