Álvaro Uribe, the first former Colombian president to face criminal charges, began trial on Thursday for alleged witness bribery and procedural fraud.
A judge initiated a criminal trial against influential Colombian politician Álvaro Uribe, the first former president to face such a process, after he was accused of witness bribery and procedural fraud . 'There are no risks that I am going to plead guilty,' responded Uribe, who attended the hearing virtually for security reasons, when questioned by the judge if he was pleading guilty, which would have expedited the sentence.
Uribe, who governed Colombia between 2002 and 2010, will have to defend himself in court to demonstrate the innocence he has maintained for years. The case began in 2012 when Uribe sued one of his political opponents, leftist congressman Iván Cepeda, alleging that he was seeking out paramilitaries to testify against him and link him to the creation of a paramilitary group in the 1990s on a hacienda owned by his family. However, in 2018, the Supreme Court of Justice closed the complaint against Cepeda and, in a turn of events, opened a new process against the former president to investigate whether he had allegedly attempted to manipulate witnesses against Cepeda. In a brief intervention at the start of the criminal trial, Uribe recalled the complaint that initiated the process that he is now responding to: 'I sent everything to the Court with complete transparency... for them to come and say that, for defending my honor from those who bribed witnesses and for sending everything to the Court with clarity, I am the author of witness bribery and the author of damage to justice. In no way, Your Honor.' Cepeda, whom the judge recognized as a direct victim in the trial against Uribe, declared to the press that they were attending a 'historic, transcendental day' because of the start of the trial against the former president. He assured that he has a 'deep conviction that after this long journey, the truth will prevail.' With the hearing, the oral trial stage begins, in which the former president and the prosecutor's office will present their respective witnesses and, subsequently, the judge will issue a sense of the judgment, either acquitting or condemning. Uribe Vélez is exposed to a sentence of up to 12 years in prison. The prosecution announced during Thursday's hearing that they will call former paramilitary Juan Guillermo Monsalve to testify, who was convicted of extortion and kidnapping and is considered a key witness in the case against Uribe. The former paramilitary is the son of the former manager of the Las Guacharacas hacienda, which belonged to Uribe's family, and where, according to his statements, a paramilitary group to which he belonged was created. The Supreme Court found that Uribe allegedly attempted to obtain a retraction from Monsalve through third parties to clear his name, which has been denied by the former president. Monsalve submitted a letter to the Court in which he asked for forgiveness for having testified against Uribe, but with a clarifying note indicating that he had done so under pressure. 'That first bribery in a criminal proceeding and that procedural fraud through Juan Guillermo Monsalve will be demonstrated... with this evidence,' said the prosecution, who said they will also present telephone communications that the former president had with other people. The trial against Uribe is against the clock, because it is estimated that the process would expire in October 2025, which puts pressure on the parties to cover all judicial stages and reach a sentence
ALVARO URIBE COLOMBIA FORMER PRESIDENT TRIAL WITNESS BRIBERY PROCEDURAL FRAUD IVAN CEPEDA PARAMILITARIES
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