International
The Colombian Prosecutor’s Office formally accuses former President Álvaro Uribe of three crimes
The Colombian Prosecutor’s Office accused Álvaro Uribe before a judge this Friday for the crimes of bribery, procedural fraud and bribery in criminal proceedings, so the former president becomes accused in the case of alleged bribery of witnesses and procedural fraud.
It is the first time that the Prosecutor’s Office has filed charges against Uribe (2002-2010), which were accepted by Judge 44 of criminal knowledge of Bogotá, Sandra Liliana Heredia, who ruled that “from this moment (the former president) acquires the status of accused.”
According to the judge’s decision, the process against Uribe begins formally and if guilty the head of the Democratic Center can be sentenced to between 6 and 12 years in prison.
The accusation comes after the togada denied the request for the nullity of the process against the former president by considering it “absolutely inappropriate,” so “its rejection is imposed flatly, a decision against which no appeal is appropriate.”
Likewise, the judge accepted as victims of the case Senator Iván Cepeda and former attorneys general Jorge Perdomo and Eduardo Montealegre, as well as Deyanira Gómez, former wife of paramilitary Juan Guillermo Monsalve, involved in the case.
These two decisions were celebrated by Cepeda’s lawyer, Reinaldo Villalba, who assured that “they are decisions that recognize not only the condition of the victims but the need for the victims to have access to justice and there defend and claim their rights.”
The prosecutor who leads the case, Gilberto Villarreal, accused Uribe as “determinator of the successive homogeneous contest of three bribery crimes in criminal proceedings” because for “the benefit of himself or a third party he gives or promises a utility to a person who witnessed a criminal act to refrain from running to testify or to totally or partially miss the truth.”
He also accused him of “sucessive homogeneous contest of two courts of procedural fraud,” that is, because “by any fraudulent means it misleads a public servant to obtain a sentence, resolution or administrative act contrary to the law.”
Also as a “determinator of the crime of bribery” because he delivered or promised “money or other utility to a witness so that he totally or partially lacks the truth or the street in his testimony.”
This case dates back to 2012 when Uribe, who was a senator, sued Cepeda for alleged manipulation of witnesses, who at that time was preparing a complaint in Congress against him for alleged links with paramilitarism.
Contrary to what was expected by Uribe, the Supreme Court of Justice did not open an investigation against the left-wing congressman and, instead, initiated a trial against Uribe for manipulation of witnesses.
The accusation of bribery 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.
Monsalve, a former paramilitary, assured that there was a whole strategy to approach him and convince him to testify against Cepeda.
Uribe has been saying for years that it is a case against him that has political motives and that lacks evidence.
Uribe resigned his senator’s seat in August 2020 to stop being assigned and that his case was passed to ordinary justice and then the Prosecutor’s Office decided that there was no evidence to prosecute him judicially.
That is why he requested up to two occasions the preclusion of the case, which was denied both by the courts of first instance presented and by the High Court of Bogotá.
However, prosecutor Villarreal took over the case on January 16 and on April 9 he affirmed that based on the physical evidence and evidence he determined that there were reasons to accuse Uribe, which were the conclusions of the judges when denying the pre-preclusion.
International
Netanyahu: “Today it’s Tel Aviv, tomorrow could be New York”
Since Friday, Israel has struck key nuclear and military facilities in Iran, killing top commanders and nuclear scientists. In response, Iran has launched barrages of missiles.
Seeking to explain the strikes to U.S. citizens, Israel’s key ally, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave lengthy interviews to American media, describing the offensive as “a battle of civilization against barbarism.” In his conversation with ABC News, he defended the attacks to “disarm” Iran and likened Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to “a modern-day Hitler.”
When asked about U.S. President Donald Trump’s reported veto of an Israeli plan to assassinate Khamenei over concerns it would escalate the conflict, Netanyahu replied: “It won’t escalate the conflict — it will end the conflict.”
He did not confirm whether Khamenei is an Israeli target. “Israel does what it must,” Netanyahu simply stated.
He accused Khamenei of harboring “insane, antisemitic fanaticism.”
“He’s like a modern Hitler. He won’t stop, but we’ll make sure he doesn’t have the means to act on his threats,” Netanyahu added.
“Iran wants an ‘eternal war,’ and they’re pushing us to the brink of nuclear conflict,” he warned.
“What Israel is doing is actually preventing it — ending this aggression. We can only do that by confronting the forces of evil,” the Prime Minister continued.
“Today it’s Tel Aviv, tomorrow it could be New York,” Netanyahu told ABC’s Jon Karl.
To the Israeli leader, pushing back against Iran’s nuclear ambitions is “preventing the most horrific war imaginable and… bringing peace to the Middle East.”
“That will only be possible if Iran is defeated,” he concluded.
International
Panama supports Morocco’s autonomy plan as sole solution for Western Sahara dispute
Panama, a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has declared Morocco’s autonomy initiative as “the most serious, credible, and realistic basis” and “the only solution for the future” to resolve the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara.
This position was expressed in a joint statement signed on Monday, June 16, in Rabat, following a meeting between Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Panama, Javier Martínez-Acha Vásquez, during his official visit to Morocco.
At a press conference following the meeting, the Panamanian foreign minister emphasized that the autonomy initiative proposed by Morocco in 2007 “should be the only solution for the future,” reiterating Panama’s clear support for the plan as a means to reach a lasting resolution to the dispute.
Panama’s support comes after the country severed all ties with the so-called “SADR” (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) in November 2024.
In the same joint statement, Morocco and Panama reaffirmed their commitment to the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Both nations also reiterated their shared desire to further strengthen bilateral relations, highlighting the excellent ties of friendship and solidarity between the two countries. They agreed on the need to continue consultations and assess their cooperation in order to enhance and deepen it.
The two nations affirmed that their cooperation is based on the principles of peaceful coexistence, democracy and good governance, solidarity, transparency, mutual respect, human rights, and international humanitarian law, as well as the rejection of unilateral sanctions.
Internacionales
Tropical storm Erick expected to become hurricane as it nears southern Mexico
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that Tropical Storm Erick is currently located 460 kilometers (about 285 miles) off the coast of Puerto Ángel, Oaxaca, with maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour (around 46 mph).
According to the latest forecast, Erick is expected to strengthen into a hurricane later tonight or early Wednesday. Heavy rains are forecast for the southern states of Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Chiapas.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum urged residents in coastal areas to stay alert and follow updates from Civil Protection authorities.
“There is a chance that it could become a Category 2 hurricane and make landfall tomorrow, Wednesday. We ask everyone along the coasts of Chiapas, Oaxaca, and southern Guerrero to stay informed,” she posted on social media platform X.
Due to its geographic location, Mexico faces annual threats from tropical cyclones on both its Pacific and Atlantic coasts, typically between May and November.
In October 2023, Hurricane Otis rapidly intensified to a Category 5 storm before striking the port city of Acapulco, leaving widespread devastation, over 50 dead, and around 30 missing.
More recently, in September 2024, the Pacific coast was hit twice by Hurricane John, which reached Category 3 and caused at least 15 fatalities, mostly in Acapulco.
Netanyahu: “Today it’s Tel Aviv, tomorrow could be New York”
Panama supports Morocco’s autonomy plan as sole solution for Western Sahara dispute
Tropical storm Erick expected to become hurricane as it nears southern Mexico
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