Colombia: Uribe's Presidential Legacy Haunted by Scandals

[Judi Lynn]

Colombia: Uribe's Presidential Legacy Haunted by Scandals
By JOHN OTIS / BOGOTÁ John Otis / BogotÁ – 20 mins ago

When he stepped down in August after eight years as Colombia's President, Alvaro Uribe gave up the keys to the national palace, the private jet and the other perks of high office. But Uribe also surrendered his Teflon coating.

Uribe is hailed as a modern-day savior by many Colombians for orchestrating a military offensive that severely weakened Marxist rebels, making the country much safer and opening the door to an economic revival. Screwups - and there were many - were forgiven and forgotten. Had he not been banned by the Constitution from running in this year's presidential election, Uribe would likely have breezed to a third term. He bowed out with an 80% job approval rating. (Read "Colombia Prepares for Life After Uribe.")

But sans presidential sash and the aura it conveyed, Uribe has been scampering to defend himself and former aides amid accusations of skullduggery reminiscent of Watergate. Allegations include illegal payoffs, wiretapping and campaign-finance shenanigans. Several members of Uribe's inner circle could end up behind bars if convicted on charges based on the allegations. The former President further stained his image last month when he helped convince the Panamanian government to grant political asylum to his former intelligence chief, MarÍa del Pilar Hurtado, who was to be a key witness in the most serious scandal of the Uribe years.

During Uribe's second term, Hurtado briefly headed Colombia's version of the FBI, known as the DAS. In 2009, DAS agents were caught eavesdropping on opposition politicians, journalists, human-rights activists and, incredibly, Supreme Court justices. Uribe's greasing the skids for Hurtado's getaway prompted howls of protest. Jaime Arrubla, the president of Colombia's Supreme Court and one of the people spied upon, rightly noted that political asylum is supposed to protect "people facing political persecution, not the persecutors themselves."

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