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3w ago

Colombian Court Convicts Álvaro Uribe of Witness Tampering and Procedural Fraud

The verdict triggers sentencing on August 1 with a deadline of October 16 to lodge an appeal

Fotografía de archivo del 27 de noviembre de 2023 del expresidente de Colombia, Álvaro Uribe Vélez
People hang a banner reading "Uribe guilty", as they protest against former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe outside the Paloquemao court complex while waiting for the ruling in a criminal case against him, in Bogota, Colombia, July 28, 2025. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez
A person holds a banner reading "Uribe to jail", as people protest against former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe outside the Paloquemao court complex while waiting for the ruling in a criminal case against him, in Bogota, Colombia, July 28, 2025. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez
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Overview

  • Judge Sandra Liliana Heredia Aranda convicted Uribe after finding he used his lawyer to bribe ex-paramilitary witnesses in Bogotá’s first-instance ruling.
  • The verdict concludes a 13-year legal saga that began in 2012 with Uribe’s own accusations against Senator Iván Cepeda and later shifted to prosecuting the former president.
  • Prosecutors relied on intercepted phone calls and a hidden-watch video showing lawyer Diego Cadena offering benefits to ex-paramilitary witness Juan Guillermo Monsalve.
  • Uribe faces a potential six- to twelve-year prison term, although his age could lead to a sentence served under house arrest.
  • His defense plans to appeal to the Tribunal Superior de Bogotá by October 16 as Uribe maintains the trial is politically motivated.