BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (JULY 29, 2025) (ANADOLU-ACCESS ALL)

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BOGOTA, COLOMBIA - JULY 29: A Colombian court on Monday, July 28, found former President Álvaro Uribe guilty of bribing a witness to alter testimony in a long-running legal case, marking an unprecedented conviction for the influential ex-leader.

Judge Sandra Heredia ruled that Uribe, who governed from 2002 to 2010, attempted to manipulate the testimony of Juan Guillermo Monsalve, a jailed former paramilitary member. Monsalve had implicated Uribe in alleged ties to armed groups before claiming Uribe’s lawyers pressured him to recant.

The court confirmed Uribe’s guilt on charges of witness tampering and bribery, offenses carrying a potential 6 to 12-year prison sentence. His defense team is expected to appeal the verdict.

The investigation traces back to 2012, when leftist ex-Senator Iván Cepeda petitioned Colombia’s Congress to probe Uribe’s alleged paramilitary links. While the Supreme Court initially declined to investigate Uribe as a sitting senator in 2020, it greenlit a separate case over witness manipulation and procedural fraud, leading to this week’s conviction.

Uribe, a polarizing figure credited with weakening rebel groups but accused of authoritarian tactics, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, calling the case a political vendetta.