Twelve-Year House Arrest for Colombia's Former President Álvaro Uribe

In an unprecedented legal outcome, former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe has been sentenced to 12 years of house arrest for witness tampering and fraud, marking the first time a former president in Colombia has been convicted of a crime. The 73-year-old Uribe, who served from 2002 to 2010, plans to appeal his conviction, asserting his innocence and claiming the case aims to undermine his voice in the democratic opposition. Barred from holding public office and fined $578,000, Uribe's conviction follows a lengthy 13-year witness-tampering investigation, during which testimonies from imprisoned ex-paramilitaries asserted that Uribe's former lawyer attempted to bribe them for favorable statements. Critics of Uribe, although he has maintained popularity despite serious allegations, have long pointed to his controversial ties to right-wing paramilitaries. The current political fallout continues, as support for Uribe from figures like US Secretary of State Marco Rubio shines a spotlight on the contentious nature of Colombian politics, which remains deeply divided over issues of social inequality and the ongoing conflict with disarmed groups.