Uribe worked with Medellin Cartel banker: Opposition tells Colombia Senate

[Judi Lynn]

1. Colombia's Ex-President Uribe Grilled by Lawmakers

Colombia's Ex-President Uribe Grilled by Lawmakers
BOGOTA, Colombia — Sep 17, 2014, 6:33 PM ET
By JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press


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Senator Alvaro Uribe, a former president of Colombia, attends a debate called by Senator Ivan Cepeda from the Alternative Democratic Pole in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014. Cepeda, a fierce opponent of Uribe, proposed a debate on Uribe's alleged ties to paramilitary groups. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

The Associated Press[/font]

Former President Alvaro Uribe was grilled by lawmakers Wednesday over allegations of ties to drug traffickers and right-wing paramilitaries, accusations that have dogged him over decades in Colombia's politics.
The claims have taken on new relevance as Colombians start to come to grips with their violent past and seek a lasting peace with Marxist rebels.

The questioning of the conservative leader, who was president in 2002-10, was orchestrated by leftist Sen. Ivan Cepeda. Both men have suffered firsthand a half-century of political violence. Uribe's father was killed in a guerrilla ambush. Cepeda's senator-father was gunned down on a Bogota street in 1994 as part of a campaign of terror against leftist politicians following an earlier peace deal.

In a 90-minute speech, Cepeda presented documents and testimony by former paramilitaries, many of whose claims have previously been known, feeding rumors and suspicions about Uribe. The former president has dismissed them as politically motivated. Many involve his family and date from the start of his political career in Medellin when the city was dominated by Pablo Escobar's cocaine cartel.

"Colombia is at a crossroads between perpetuating war, hate and violence or opening the difficult path to reconciliation and peace," Cepeda told a packed assembly of lawmakers and journalists. "Knowing the truth is key for the political process our country is undergoing."

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http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/colombias-president-uribe-grilled-lawmakers-25578296