International
The Colombian Prosecutor’s Office will bring former President Álvaro Uribe to trial for bribery of witnesses
A Colombian prosecutor filed an accusation on Tuesday against former President Álvaro Uribe “as an alleged determiner of the crimes of bribery of witnesses in criminal proceedings and procedural fraud,” which indicates that he will be called to trial, the Prosecutor’s Office reported.
The accusation was presented by the first prosecutor delegated to the Supreme Court of Justice Gilberto Villareal, who took over the case on January 16.
This case dates back to 2012 when Uribe sued Iván Cepeda, senator of the left-wing Party Polo Democrático Alternativo (PDA), who at that time was preparing a complaint in Congress against him for alleged ties to paramilitarism, for alleged ties.
However, the Supreme Court of Justice decided not to open an investigation against the congressman and, instead, initiated a lawsuit against the former president for manipulation of witnesses.
According to sources of the Prosecutor’s Office, from the physical evidence and evidence, it was concluded that there were reasons to accuse Uribe, who was president of Colombia between 2002 and 2010.
“The decision of the delegated prosecutor was adopted after two requests for pre-exclusion from different prosecutors that were rejected by the criminal judges of the competent circuit,” the first in April 2022 and the second in May 2023.
The Prosecutor’s Office added that once the judicial distribution process is completed, “the hearing to formalize the accusation will be held, on the date and time set by the judiciary.”
Upon assuming the case, prosecutor Villarreal had 90 days to file the accusation against Uribe, a deadline that will be met on April 15.
The accusation of bribery in criminal proceedings has to do with the alleged payment of bribes to Carlos Enrique Vélez and Juan Guillermo Monsalve, who are imprisoned in the prisons of Palmira and La Picota in Bogotá, respectively, as well as a woman identified as Eurídice Cortés, to benefit the former president with his statements.
While the procedural fraud involves all the irregularities of the case.
Despite the accusation, Uribe will be able to respond to the process in freedom since that is usual in all cases and the deprivation of liberty is an exceptional measure, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Left-wing senator Iván Cepeda, recognized as a victim in the process against Álvaro Uribe for bribery of witnesses and procedural fraud, assured on Tuesday that the decision of the Prosecutor’s Office to call the former president to trial is “fair.”
“Today comes to the end a decision that we consider to be fair,” Cepeda told journalists, also assuring that former President Uribe “has the full right to due process, to defense, but also we have the truth and justice to prevail.”
International
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe on Monday requested that the Supreme Court restore his freedom while he appeals the historic 12-year house arrest sentence he received for bribery and procedural fraud.
Uribe, the most prominent figure of Colombia’s right wing, was convicted last week by a lower court for attempting to bribe paramilitary members into denying his ties to the violent anti-guerrilla squads.
Since Friday, the 73-year-old has been under house arrest at his residence in Rionegro, about 30 km from Medellín. The judge justified the measure by citing a risk of flight.
However, Uribe’s defense team rejected that argument and formally petitioned the court to immediately lift the detention order, claiming it lacks legal basis.
Uribe, a dominant force in Colombian politics for decades, is now the first former president in the country’s history to be convicted and placed under arrest, found guilty of witness tampering and obstruction of justice to prevent links to paramilitary groups.
He has repeatedly denounced the trial as politically motivated, blaming pressure from the leftist government currently in power.
His political party, Centro Democrático, has called for nationwide protests on August 7 in support of Uribe, who remains popular for his hardline stance against guerrilla groups.
Uribe has until August 13 to submit his written appeal. The case will then move to the Bogotá High Court, which has until October 16 to uphold, overturn, or dismiss the sentence. If the deadline passes without a decision, the case will be archived.
International
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
The poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean is currently engulfed in a deep political crisis and a wave of violence driven by armed groups — a situation that an international security mission led by Kenya is attempting to stabilize.
Due to the worsening security conditions, the U.S. government has suspended all official movements of embassy personnel outside the compound in Port-au-Prince, the U.S. State Department announced Monday in a security alert posted on social media platform X.
“There are intense gunfights in the Tabarre neighborhood, near the U.S. Embassy,” the alert reads, urging the public to avoid the area.
Tabarre is a municipality located near Port-au-Prince International Airport, northeast of the Haitian capital.
According to a July report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 3,141 people were killed in Haitibetween January 1 and June 30 of this year.
International
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
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Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction