Álvaro Uribe Vélez, former far-right president of Colombia (2002-2010). Photo: Juan Zamara/EFE.
This Friday, August 1, the judge of the 44th Criminal Court of Bogotá, Sandra Liliana Heredia, issued an immediate sentence upon announcing a 12-year sentence of house arrest for former President Álvaro Uribe Vélez (2002-2010) for the crimes of witness bribery and procedural fraud. She also ordered the payment of a fine and a ban from holding public office for 100 months and 20 days.
The judge confirmed the historic verdict during a hearing at the Paloquemao court complex at 2 p.m. local time, marking the first time in history that a former Colombian president has been convicted. Heredia confirmed that the defendant will be placed under house arrest and ordered to pay a sum equivalent to approximately $750,000.
The court acquitted Uribe of simple bribery, but confirmed his responsibility for tampering with evidence and offering benefits to witnesses to alter their statements in judicial proceedings.
Taking into account that the defendant’s address is in Ríonegro, department of Antioquia, the judge also ordered that the Judicial Services Center of said town “sign the commitment diligence and issue the corresponding incarceration warrant, and the prison establishment in charge of surveillance must proceed with his immediate transfer to his home, where he will serve house arrest and the respective controls will be carried out.”
The text of the sentence states that “an appeal may be filed against it before the Criminal Chamber of the Superior Court of Bogotá DC, an appeal that must be filed at this stage of the proceedings and may be supported orally within the same or in writing within the following five days.”
Uribe’s defense team previously announced that it will appeal the ruling.
The public prosecutor’s office requested a nine-year prison sentence, a fine, and political disqualification. Meanwhile, the defendant’s victims requested a 12-year sentence.
The prosecutor’s office argued that the requested sentences are in accordance with current legislation, which provides for penalties of between six and 12 years in prison for the serious crimes committed by Uribe.
The court ruling details how Uribe led an organized structure to fabricate false evidence against Senator Iván Cepeda Castro, using his lawyer Diego Cadena as the main operative and with the participation of third parties such as former prisoner Enrique Pardo Hasche and former CIA Agent Lisa Ruth.
The investigation revealed that the former president authorized systematic pressure against Juan Guillermo Monsalve, who had accused the Uribe brothers of links to paramilitaries. Through Cadena, legal benefits such as review of convictions and prison terms were offered in exchange for Monsalve’s retraction of his accusations.
Technical evidence was decisive in the conviction. Legal wiretaps revealed coordination between Uribe and his collaborators, including conversations where the former president authorized Cadena with phrases like “Go ahead, doctor, you do things right.” Monsalve used a spy watch to record the encounters at La Picota prison in 2018, where he was pressured to change his testimony.
The court documented the falsification of letters signed by witnesses such as Carlos Vélez “Victor” and Eurídice Cortés “Diana,” as well as by inmates at the Cómbita prison, which contained false statements against Cepeda. These letters were presented to the Supreme Court by Uribe’s lawyers as evidence of his innocence.
The ruling establishes that Uribe authorized money transfers to witnesses through intermediaries such as Rodolfo Echeverry. María Elena Vélez, “Victor’s” sister, received 18 million pesos as part of these illicit payments intended to secure favorable statements for the former president.
The keys to the trial against Uribe Vélez
The origin of the case dates back to 2012, when Uribe accused Cepeda of alleged procedural fraud. However, the investigation took an unexpected turn in 2018 when the Supreme Court found evidence that Uribe himself had manipulated witnesses to build his case against the senator.
The oral trial took place between February and July 2025, spanning 56 sessions. Uribe pleaded not guilty, and his defense argued that he acted in the legitimate exercise of his right to defense, unaware of his lawyer’s illicit conduct. However, the prosecutor’s office demonstrated that the former president directed and endorsed the criminal plan, receiving real-time reports from Cadena and even giving him a sum of money as payment for illicit services.
The defense attempted to argue the application of the principle of non bis in idem, alleging double jeopardy, but the court rejected this by considering that the aggravating factors used do not constitute elements of the criminal type but rather independent circumstances that increase liability.
The ruling recognized victims Iván Cepeda Castro, who was falsely accused of witness tampering; Deyanira Gómez Sarmiento, Monsalve’s wife, who was threatened for providing evidence; and former judicial officials Luis Eduardo Montealegre and Jorge Perdomo, who were defamed in the forged letters.
The court applied aggravating circumstances based on Uribe’s distinguished position in society, taking advantage of his influence as a former president, and on criminal participation in leading an organized network to commit the crimes. The base sentence for bribery in criminal proceedings was set at 91 months, increased to 120 months for homogeneous participation because it involved three victims, while the base sentence for procedural fraud was 94 months, increased to 104 months for presenting nine false documents.
Colombia: Dimensions of the Judicial Ruling Against Former President Uribe
The application of the heterogeneous competition resulted in the sum of both sentences, taking the most severe as the base sentence and adding 24 months, for a total of 144 months in prison. The judge granted the benefit of house arrest after verifying that Uribe met the legal requirements, including family and social ties at his residence in Rionegro, Antioquia.
The sentence will begin immediately once Uribe posts bail equal to four times the current minimum wage and returns to his home under the supervision of the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute. The ruling can be appealed before the criminal division of the Superior Court of Bogotá.
The ruling sets a historic precedent in Colombia by demonstrating that no citizen, regardless of their political position or influence, is above the law. The Uribe case marks a turning point in the fight against high-level impunity and strengthens confidence in the country’s judicial institutions.
(Telesur)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SF
