International
Álvaro Uribe, former president of Colombia, affirms that the trial against him has political motivations
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe (2002-2010) said on Wednesday that the trial to which he will be called for the crimes of bribery of witnesses in criminal action and procedural fraud has political motivations and lacks evidence against him.
“This trial is brought forward for political presumptions, for personal deception, for political revenge, without evidence to infer that I sought to bribe witnesses or deceive justice,” Uribe said in a statement read on his social networks.
The Prosecutor’s Office yesterday made an accusation against Uribe “as an alleged determiner of the crimes of bribery of witnesses in criminal proceedings and procedural fraud,” in a case that began in 2012 with a complaint against the left-wing senator Iván Cepeda and that, like a boomerang, was returned against him.
Uribe denied that he knew or had had contacts with several criminals cited in the process, some of them prisoners, whom lawyer Diego Cadena allegedly contacted to testify against Cepeda.
“I always asked for the truth, I never asked to lie or shut up,” said the former president and leader of the right-wing party Centro Democrático, who added: “I have never involved people in crime, except people of my children’s age.”
Uribe’s lawsuit against Cepeda, a senator who today is part of the ruling coalition Historical Pact, sought to demonstrate an alleged manipulation of witnesses in a complaint that he prepared 14 years ago in Congress against the former president for alleged links with paramilitarism.
However, the Supreme Court of Justice decided not to open an investigation against Cepeda and, instead, initiated a lawsuit against Uribe for manipulation of witnesses for alleged payments and offers to two prisoners to testify against the left-wing senator.
For that reason, Uribe questioned the actions of the Supreme Court, in particular of magistrates José Luis Barceló, Luis Hernández and César Reyes, some of whom he said that they have some kind of personal or work bond with their political enemies.
“What a difference in treatment; my accusers are allowed of everything and they accuse me without evidence for bribery of witnesses and deception of justice,” he added.
Uribe resigned in August 2020 from the Senate to stop being assed and that his case passed to ordinary Justice and then the Prosecutor’s Office, led at the time by Francisco Barbosa, a friend of the then Uribe president Iván Duque, decided that there was no evidence to prosecute him judicially.
The accusation against Uribe to take him to trial comes two weeks after the new attorney general, Luz Adriana Camargo, took office, which allowed the process to be unlocked, something in which Uribe also sees signs of animosity against him.
“The new attorney general of the nation has worked very close to the Minister of Defense (Iván Velásquez), it was his second in the (UN) mission in Guatemala, which I criticized. For no one is the Minister’s animosity against my family and towards me,” he said.
For Uribe, in this case the political origin of the process against him has become clear, which even linked him to the peace negotiations with the illegal armed groups, of which he has been a severe opponent.
“This manipulation against me gives signs of being part of the motivation to be part of a total peace agreement or for an end point law. So that they forgive the criminals as they did with the FARC and justify it with the fiction of forgiving those of us who have not committed crimes,” he said.
The former president also accused magistrates of the case of depriving him of the right to defend his honor because “if I do it bribe to witnesses and bribery to justice” and assured that “all the new evidence” carried out after the previous Prosecutor’s Office asked on two occasions for the closure of his case favor him, “however they dismissed them.”
“They open the doors of the prison for me without proof, with the evidence on the contrary, for assumptions, political spirits and the need to equalize those who have not committed crimes with those who have done it,” he concluded.
International
Rubio rules out 2028 presidential bid if Vance runs
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would not seek the presidency in 2028 if current Vice President JD Vancedecides to run as the Republican nominee to succeed President Donald Trump.
“If JD Vance runs for president, he will be our candidate, and I will be one of the first people to support him,” Rubio said in an interview with Vanity Fair, in which he appeared alongside other senior members of the presidential cabinet.
Rubio, 54, and Vance, 41, are widely viewed as two of the leading Republican figures who could headline the party’s ticket in the 2028 election. Under the U.S. Constitution, Trump is barred from seeking another term after completing two presidential mandates.
In a lighthearted moment during the interview, Vance jokingly offered photographers $1,000 if they managed to make him look better than Rubio in the photos. Both leaders have received public backing from Trump, who last October floated the idea of a joint ticket featuring Rubio and Vance, without clarifying who would lead it.
“I think that if they ever teamed up, they would be unstoppable. I don’t think anyone would run against us,” Trump said at the time.
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who also took part in the interview, confirmed that Trump does not intend to violate the 22nd Amendment, which prohibits a third presidential term, though she acknowledged that the president is “having fun” with speculation about a possible return to office.
Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, served as a Republican senator from 2010 to 2025. He sought the party’s presidential nomination in 2016 but was defeated by Trump after a bruising primary contest. His name was floated as a potential vice presidential pick in 2024, but Vance ultimately secured the spot. After taking office, Trump appointed Rubio as secretary of state, making him the first Latino to hold the position.
International
Authorities search for armed and dangerous suspect in fatal Brown University attack
According to the statement, investigators are “seeking the public’s help to identify and speak with an individual” who was seen “near” the suspect at the time of the attack.
The Providence Police Department in Rhode Island released three photos of the person of interest, whose face has been blurred. In the images, the individual is wearing navy blue clothing, what appears to be a green hood, and carrying a light-colored backpack.
Earlier, authorities had released several photos and videos of a suspect described as “approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a stocky build,” dressed in dark clothing, with their face covered by a surgical mask and wearing a beanie. The suspect’s identity remains unknown.
Authorities are offering a $50,000 reward for any information leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the person responsible for the killings, who is considered armed and dangerous.
The gunman opened fire on Saturday at Brown University’s engineering and physics building, where exams were being held, killing students Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov. The names of the nine people injured have not been released.
International
Police investigate deaths of Rob Reiner and wife as apparent homicide
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is investigating the deaths of Hollywood actor and filmmaker Rob Reinerand his wife as an “apparent homicide,” amid a wave of tributes to the director of classics such as When Harry Met Sally.
According to U.S. media reports on Sunday, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were found dead at their Los Angeles mansion with what appeared to be stab wounds.
Several political figures shared messages of condolence following the reported deaths of the director of A Few Good Menand his wife.
While the LAPD did not officially confirm the identities of the victims, it stated that homicide detectives were dispatched to the Reiner residence.
“At this time, no additional details are available and the investigation into an apparent homicide is ongoing,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement posted on social media.
LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton told reporters that no arrests have been made and that no individuals are currently being questioned as suspects.
“I’m not going to confirm whether anyone is being questioned at this moment or not. We are going to try to speak with as many family members as we can,” Hamilton said.
CNN reported that a family spokesperson confirmed the deaths of Reiner and his wife.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, former U.S. President Barack Obama, and former Vice President Kamala Harrisissued statements expressing their condolences.
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