Former Colombian president Álvaro Uribe sentenced to 12 years of house arrest
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Vélez was sentenced on Friday to 12 years of house arrest for bribery in criminal proceedings and procedural fraud. In addition to the house arrest, Uribe must pay a fine of about $820,000 and is banned from holding public office for over eight years.
Judge Sandra Liliana Heredia issued the historic ruling on Thursday, marking the first criminal conviction of a former Colombian president in the nation’s recent judicial history. The decision has deeply divided Colombia: supporters of Uribe call it “political persecution,” while victims of human rights abuses see it as a long-overdue step toward justice.
Uribe’s legal team plans to appeal the sentence before Bogotá’s Superior Court on August 11, which could delay enforcement while the appeal is underway. The case originated in 2012 when Uribe, then a senator, filed charges against Senator Iván Cepeda Castro, accusing him of witness tampering to link Uribe to illegal armed groups. However, the investigation turned against Uribe when the Supreme Court found evidence that associates of Uribe had bribed former paramilitary and guerrilla members for false testimony against Cepeda.
Uribe was charged with manipulating evidence and obstructing justice to influence judges and secure favorable rulings in the case he had initiated. Following the sentencing, Historical Pact Senator Wilson Arias stated that the sentence was justified and not political persecution, emphasizing that Uribe had initiated a vendetta against Cepeda while committing serious crimes.
Some political figures expressed contrasting views. On social media, Representative Alexandra Vásquez praised the verdict as justice prevailing over political and economic power. Meanwhile, former President Iván Duque claimed that a coalition of 28 former presidents demanded international oversight, alleging violations of human rights treaties and lack of evidence, asserting Uribe’s innocence.
Christian Garcés Aljure, a member of Colombia’s House of Representatives, condemned the conviction as an attempt to silence Uribe, describing him as a key figure opposing socialist movements in South America.
During his presidency, Uribe implemented the “Democratic Security” policy, which lowered kidnapping and homicide rates and promoted demobilization of armed groups. However, his tenure was marred by allegations of human rights abuses, including controversies over paramilitary impunity and the “false positives” scandal, where civilians were killed by the military and falsely reported as combatant deaths.
Investigations revealed that between 2012 and 2018, imprisoned paramilitaries were bribed and pressured to alter their testimonies linking Uribe to illegal armed groups, leading to the charges and conviction he now faces.
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