BOGOTÁ, Colombia (BN24) — Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe was sentenced Friday to 12 years of house arrest for charges of bribery and procedural fraud, marking the first criminal conviction of a former head of state in the country’s history. The ruling comes in a high-profile legal battle that has spanned over a decade and threatens to reshape Colombia’s political landscape ahead of the 2026 presidential election.
Uribe, 73, was convicted earlier this week by Judge Sandra Liliana Heredia, who also imposed a fine of $578,000 and barred him from holding public office for more than eight years. The former president has denied any wrongdoing and denounced the case as politically motivated. His legal team said it would file a formal appeal in the coming days.
“In my condition as a convict, because of this ruling, I respectfully request the right to appeal,” Uribe said during a virtual court hearing, asserting the process aimed to “destroy a voice for the democratic opposition.”
Uribe must report to authorities in Rionegro, Antioquia, where he resides, and then begin his house arrest sentence immediately, according to the ruling. His defense claims the trial was marred by bias, alleging that Judge Heredia repeatedly attacked his legal team and family—accusations the judge has denied.
The case stems from long-standing allegations that Uribe, through his attorney Diego Cadena, bribed jailed paramilitary members to discredit testimonies linking him to right-wing militias. The charges—bribery and procedural fraud—each carry sentences of up to 12 years. Testimonies against Uribe included statements from former paramilitaries who said Cadena offered them money in exchange for favorable accounts.
Uribe’s supporters argue he is being targeted by political enemies, pointing to his tenure as president from 2002 to 2010, when he led a U.S.-backed military campaign against Marxist guerrilla groups. His critics, meanwhile, see the conviction as long overdue accountability for alleged ties to paramilitary violence that plagued Colombia during the height of its internal conflict.
The conviction could carry significant international implications. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio criticized the ruling, calling it an example of the “weaponization of Colombia’s judicial branch by radical judges,” and analysts suggest the case may impact future American aid to Colombia.
Uribe’s downfall also reverberates through Colombia’s political class. As founder of the right-wing Democratic Center party, he remains a major force behind several candidates in the upcoming presidential race. His legal troubles cast uncertainty over their campaigns and may shift voter sentiment in an already polarized nation.
The case began in 2012 when leftist Senator Iván Cepeda presented evidence from ex-paramilitaries alleging that Uribe had supported their armed groups during his time as governor of Antioquia. Uribe responded by accusing Cepeda of fabricating the testimonies. But in 2018, Colombia’s Supreme Court concluded that Cepeda had not coerced the witnesses—instead, it found evidence that Uribe’s associates had attempted to manipulate their statements.
Cepeda, recognized as a victim in the proceedings, attended the hearings and welcomed the verdict as a landmark moment in Colombia’s judicial history.
Uribe, once hailed for his aggressive stance against guerrillas and efforts to demobilize militias, has long denied involvement with the paramilitary groups. He has cited his 2008 decision to extradite several paramilitary leaders to the United States as proof of his independence from their influence. Nonetheless, Colombia’s truth commission estimates that paramilitaries were responsible for nearly half of the more than 450,000 deaths in the country’s decades-long armed conflict.
The conviction places Uribe alongside other Latin American leaders who have faced criminal judgments, including Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Peru’s Alberto Fujimori, and Argentina’s Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
As Uribe begins his sentence under house arrest, the implications of the ruling will continue to ripple across Colombia’s legal, political, and diplomatic spheres in the months to come.
