Colombia: court orders detention of ex-president Uribe amid fraud inquiry

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Colombia: court orders detention of ex-president Uribe amid fraud inquiry

• Uribe, who ruled from 2002 to 2010, led campaign against Farc
• Officials investigating witness-tampering and fraud allegations

Joe Parkin Daniels in Bogotá
@joeparkdan
Published on Tue 4 Aug 2020 22.31 BST

Colombia’s supreme court has ordered the detention of the hardline former president Álvaro Uribe amid an investigation into allegations of witness tampering and fraud in relation to crimes committed during the country’s 52-year civil war.

Tuesday’s decision shocked Colombians, who remained deeply divided over the Uribe’s 2002-10 administration, which was defined by his military campaign against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), a leftist rebel group that later demobilized in 2016.

No Colombian president has been formally detained before.

“This is huge, not least because Uribe is considered the most powerful man in the country,” said Sergio Guzmán, the director of Colombia Risk Analysis, a consultancy. “It shows that nobody is above the law in Colombia, not even Uribe.”

-snip-

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/04/colombia-alvaro-uribe-supreme-court-house-arrest

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Also: Colombia orders arrest of former president Alvaro Uribe (WPLG-TV)

[Judi Lynn]

1. Powerful Colombian ex-president to lose freedom during probe

Christine Armario, Associated Press
Updated 6:11 pm CDT, Tuesday, August 4, 2020



Photo: Ivan Valencia, AP

FILE - In this Oct. 8, 2019 file photo, senator and former president Alvaro Uribe arrives to the Supreme Court for questioning in an investigation for witness tampering charges in Bogota, Colombia. Uribe will not be allowed to remain at liberty while the Supreme Court investigates the allegations against him, current President Ivan Duque said in a video address Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020.

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe will not be allowed to remain at liberty while the Supreme Court investigates allegations of witness tampering against him in another blow to one of the nation’s most powerful political leaders.

Current President Iván Duque lamented in a short video statement Tuesday that his political mentor “will not be allowed to defend himself in freedom” as news of the former president’s expected detention rocked the county.

“This causes me profound sadness, for my wife, for my family,” Uribe said on Twitter. “And for Colombians who still believe I’ve done something good for the homeland.”

The news touched off a firestorm in Colombia, where Uribe remains a domineering voice in the nation’s highly divisive politics. Critics and civil rights groups praised the Supreme Court for continuing to pursue the accusations against him in a country where the powerful routinely escape punishment for wrongdoing.

More:
https://www.chron.com/news/article/Powerful-Colombian-ex-president-to-lose-freedom-15458716.php

[Judi Lynn]

2. Colombia: Nobody Is Above The Law, Says Senator Ivan Cepeda

Colombian lawmaker, Ivan Cepeda. | Photo: EFE

Published 4 August 2020

Sen. Iván Cepeda on the arrest order for Alvaro Uribe: ''the decision of the supreme court of justice helps consolidate democracy in Colombia.''

Colombian Senator Iván Cepeda for the Alternative Democratic Pole (ADP-Polo Democrático Alternativo) and his lawyer Reinaldo Villalba welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice to issue an assurance measure against former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Vélez, who is being investigated for witness tampering and procedural fraud.

At a short press conference, Villalba said this is important news for the judiciary, and he stressed the independence of the Supreme Court, despite pressures.

The left-wing Senator Cepeda pointed out the value of the supreme court's decision in helping to consolidate democracy in Colombia. ‘’It is a lesson that indicates there are no individuals above the law, regardless of how important they may be’’, he stated.

While expressing the joy, the leader of ADP called for total serenity and to avoid inciting commotion or exacerbating emotions in public opinion.

More:
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Colombia-Nobody-Is-Above-The-Law-Said-Senator-Ivan-Cepeda-20200804-0021.html

[Judi Lynn]

3. Colombia's Supreme Court places Uribe under house arrest for witness tampering

by Adriaan Alsema August 4, 2020

Colombia’s Supreme Court placed former President Alvaro Uribe under house arrest on Tuesday after filing fraud and bribery charges in a historic decision.

Uribe, one of Colombia’s most powerful politicians of the past decades, announced his arrest on Twitter after the court called him to personally informed him of the historic arrest warrant against, according to newspaper El Espectador.

The deprivation of my freedom makes me feel profoundly sad for my wife, for my family and for the Colombians who still believe that I have done something good for the country.

Former President Alvaro Uribe

The Supreme Court confirmed the unanimous decision to place the former Medellin Cartel associate and the leader of the ruling Democratic Center party under house arrest until the end of his witness tampering trial.

More:
https://colombiareports.com/colombias-supreme-court-orders-uribes/



Alvaro Uribe and his friend from Texas.

[Judi Lynn]

4. The crisis that could follow if Colombia's Supreme Court jails Uribe

by Adriaan Alsema August 4, 2020

If Colombia’s Supreme Court decides to jail former President Alvaro Uribe, the government of President Ivan Duque is likely to enter in crisis while the ruling party implodes.

Duque’s party, the Democratic Center, is referred to as “the Uribistas” for a reason; they are loyal only to Uribe and expect the same from the president.

Within the government, the president is surrounded by Uribe’s most loyal underbosses, who have been able to make sure Duque doesn’t get the wrong idea he’s the boss.

Too many Uribista underbosses

With Uribe in jail, the government would become rudderless. Neither Duque nor Uribe’s underbosses have the natural authority to take the wheel or the competence to prevent the ministers to do as they see fit.

More:
https://colombiareports.com/the-crisis-that-could-follow-if-colombias-supreme-court-jails-uribe/

[Judi Lynn]

5. Former pilot of Colombia's president missing after Sinaloa Cartel plane crash: report

by Adriaan Alsema August 4, 2020

Guatemala Police are investigating if President Ivan Duque‘s 2018 campaign pilot died while trafficking cocaine for the Sinaloa Cartel, La Nueva Prensa reported Monday.

According to the news website, police from the central Meta province said that pilot Samuel Niño went missing on December 3 last year while flying a shipment of cocaine to North America.

The presumably dead pilot is reportedly a trustee of former President Alvaro Uribe and the half-brother of Hernan Gomez, the regional director of Uribe’s Democratic Center party in the Meta department.

. . .

“That notice appears when authorities like Interpol or the CIA carry out investigations in partnership with the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Presidency,” the anonymous source told La Nueva Prensa.

Both Uribe and Duque are being investigated, among other things, over their ties to a late money launderer of the drug trafficking organization of Marquito Figueroa.

More:
https://colombiareports.com/former-pilot-of-colombias-president-missing-after-sinaloa-cartel-plane-crash-report/

Also posted in LBN:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142553717