Colombian Ex-President Alvaro Uribe’s Conviction Overturned on Appeal

The Bogotá Superior Court overturned a prior conviction against former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Vélez on Tuesday, acquitting him of charges related to procedural fraud and witness bribery. The decision reverses a judgment issued two and a half months earlier by Judge Sandra Liliana Heredia.

The Criminal Chamber, in a ruling spanning more than 700 pages, determined that the evidence presented did not sufficiently establish that Uribe, the founder and political leader of the Democratic Center party, had instructed his former lawyer, Diego Cadena, to engage in the alleged bribery of imprisoned individuals and former paramilitary members.

The court’s decision, delivered via a report by Judge Manuel Antonio Merchán, concluded that the lower court’s conviction contained “serious errors and biases” that constituted a violation of the former president’s due process rights. Specifically, the ruling indicated that the initial judgment, issued in August, had accepted evidence without fully assessing its credibility, particularly citing inconsistencies in the sworn testimony of witnesses such as former paramilitary Carlos Enrique Vélez, known by the alias “Víctor.”

The case centers on accusations that Uribe or individuals acting on his behalf sought to influence testimony related to his alleged historical links with the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), a demobilized paramilitary group.

The legal proceedings originated in 2011 following an interview conducted by then-Congressman Iván Cepeda with Juan Guillermo Monsalve. During the interview, Monsalve alleged a connection between Uribe and the AUC’s “Metro” bloc operating in the Antioquia region. Following Cepeda’s dissemination of this interview in the National Congress, Uribe filed a complaint against the legislator, accusing him of manipulating witnesses to cause harm.

After several judicial inquiries, the Supreme Court of Justice declined to investigate Cepeda in February 2018. Instead, the court opened a preliminary inquiry against Uribe for allegedly directing or tolerating efforts to discredit Cepeda’s claims and secure favorable testimonies.

Political and Legal Repercussions

Following the acquittal, Senator Cepeda, a member of the current governing coalition Pacto Histórico, announced that the legal team representing the victims will file a casación (appeal) before the Supreme Court of Justice.

Cepeda stated that the court’s majority ruling ignored the potential criminal liability of lawyer Diego Cadena, who had also been convicted in the first instance. The senator highlighted the 400-page dissenting vote presented by Magistrate María Leonor Oviedo Pinto, characterizing it as a contrasting position that provided a robust evidentiary assessment.

Cepeda emphasized that the acquittal would not terminate the legal process, asserting, “Contrary to any illusion by Álvaro Uribe and his defense that this litigation ends here, no, we are totally committed to the search for the truth. We feel our rights as victims have been violated.” The attorneys representing the victims, Reinaldo Villalba and Miguel Ángel del Río, echoed Cepeda’s position, expressing respect for the judicial decision while simultaneously questioning the legal merit of the Tuesday ruling.