Former Colombian President Uribe says he is Already Preparing Arguments to Appeal his Conviction
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe said Friday that he is already preparing arguments to appeal the sentence imposed on him after being convicted in the first instance for procedural fraud and bribery in criminal proceedings. “We need to think much more about the solution than the problem. That’s why I’m preparing the arguments to support my appeal,” Uribe said on his X account. Judge Sandra Liliana Heredia, of the 44th Criminal Circuit Court of Bogotá, who last Monday sentenced Uribe, 73, for two crimes and acquitted him of simple bribery in a case that pits him against left-wing senator Iván Cepeda, summoned the parties at 2:00 pm (local time) for the reading of the sentence, which could be between four and eight years in prison.
However, the Prosecutor’s Office has requested a longer sentence of nine years in prison. Attorney Jaime Granados, who is leading the former president’s defense, announced this week that he will appeal the judge’s decision to the Bogotá Superior Court on August 11, and that is what Uribe is already working on, the leader of the right-wing Democratic Center party said today. The Bogotá Superior Court has until October 16 to rule on the case, and the defense has not ruled out taking the case to the Supreme Court of Justice if the appeals court decision is unfavorable.
Uribe, who served as president of Colombia from 2002 to 2010, noted that in his presentations on leadership, he often says “that the most difficult crises are those that affect people,” like the one he is currently experiencing. “These personal crises require family, loved ones, friends, committed compatriots who have supported us, those who are distant but with objective curiosity. And, fundamentally, prayer,” added the former Colombian head of state.
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Sentenced to 12 Years of House Arrest
Bogotá, Colombia: Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe was sentenced Friday to 12 years of house arrest for bribery and procedural fraud, following a historic court ruling that makes him the first former president to be convicted and imprisoned. The 73-year-old right-wing former president will also be barred from holding public office for more than eight years, according to a document from the verdict leaked to the press, the authenticity of which was confirmed by a source close to the counterparty on condition of anonymity. Uribe, who governed from 2002 to 2010, was found guilty on Monday of obstructing justice and tampering with witnesses to avoid being linked to the far-right groups that committed numerous crimes against civilians during the armed conflict.
The official announcement of the sentence will be made at a hearing in Bogotá this Friday at 7:00 PM GMT. The decision is the tip of the iceberg of other investigations linking the former president to these far-right groups, responsible for numerous atrocious crimes against civilians during the armed conflict. Hours before learning of his sentence, the Colombian right-wing leader stated on the X network that he takes refuge in his loved ones and “fundamentally in prayer.” Uribe’s defense team announced it will appeal the ruling, which they consider politicized and under pressure from the ruling left.
Lawsuit Against Petro
On opposing political sides, Uribe and President Gustavo Petro frequently clash over this case. The former president’s lawyers filed a complaint against Petro for “harassment and slander” before a lower house committee with the power to investigate leaders, they said in a statement Friday. Legal experts claim that during the week Petro made unfounded accusations against Uribe, attributing crimes such as drug trafficking to him. When the defense attorneys appeal, the case will be referred to the Superior Court of Bogotá, which has until October 16 to uphold the conviction or overturn it and acquit him. If it exceeds that deadline, the case will be dismissed. “And we must think much more about the solution than the problem.
That’s why I’m preparing the arguments to support my substantive defense appeal,” the former president wrote. It all began in 2012, when Uribe sued leftist Senator Iván Cepeda before the Supreme Court for claiming that imprisoned paramilitaries claimed to have ties to the former president. In 2018, the court reversed course and began investigating the former president for manipulating witnesses to harm Cepeda. Two years later, Uribe, who was then a senator, resigned from Congress in a move that caused him to lose his immunity, so the case was referred to the ordinary courts. The trial began in 2024, and the judge ultimately determined that Uribe was behind a strategy to pressure witnesses into changing their stories.
Presidential Race
This conviction sets the stage for the 2026 presidential elections, in which the right-wing Democratic Center party seeks to regain power. For Yann Basset, a political science professor at the Universidad del Rosario, the conviction has an “effect” on the election of his candidate. “It creates a kind of legitimist reflex to defend Uribe’s legacy “for “the most radical and profoundly pro-Uribe section of the right”. However, for Basset, this could be a “trap,” as it would be “closing a discourse focused on the past” and not on “what most concerns the electorate at this moment.” For the left, it’s an opportunity to “make Iván Cepeda more visible” given the lack of a clear successor to Petro. The 62-year-old senator told journalist Daniel Coronell’s YouTube channel last week that he had always been “reluctant” to run for president, but recent events “force him to reconsider.” Uribe has asserted that his trial was “revenge” from the left and the FARC, the guerrilla group he fought with a heavy hand before demobilizing in 2017.
