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Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe has been convicted of witness tampering and bribery in a historic trial that shocked the South American nation.

The ruling followed an almost six-month trial in which prosecutors presented evidence that Uribe tried to influence witnesses who accused him of links to a paramilitary group.

The 73-year-old — who was president from 2002 to 2010 — faces up to 12 years in prison but a sentencing will be delivered in a separate hearing. He is Colombia’s first-ever former head of state to be convicted of a crime.

Uribe is expected to appeal the ruling, having maintained his innocence.

He was not in court in the capital, Bogota, for the verdict as the judge has so far not ordered his arrest. The former president attended the trial virtually and could be seen shaking his head as the verdict was read out.

Uribe is a polarising figure in Colombia, where many credit him for saving the country from becoming a failed state, while others associate him with human rights violations and the rise of paramilitary groups in the 1990s.

Rubio criticises ruling

In her ruling, Judge Sandra Heredia said there was sufficient evidence to find that Uribe conspired with a lawyer to persuade three imprisoned former members of paramilitary groups into changing testimony they had provided to Ivan Cepeda, a left-wing senator.

Cepeda had launched an investigation into Uribe’s alleged links to a paramilitary group.

The case dates back to 2012 when Uribe filed a libel suit against Cepeda before the Supreme Court. However, in an unexpected twist, the high court dismissed the charges and instead began investigating Uribe in 2018.

During Uribe’s presidency, the Colombian army forced Latin America’s oldest leftist insurgency, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), into remote areas and held peace talks which led to the disarmament of more than 13,000 fighters in 2016.

Known for his work ethic and temper, Uribe still has many supporters in Colombia and is one of the fiercest opponents of the current president, leftist ex-guerrilla Gustavo Petro.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reacted to the ruling as it became clear that Judge Heredia would find the former president guilty of bribery.

“Uribe’s only crime has been to tirelessly fight and defend his homeland,” Rubio wrote on Monday on X.

“The weaponisation of Colombia’s judicial branch by radical judges has now set a worrisome precedent.”

Colombian President Gustavo Petro defended the ruling. He wrote on X that “a solid justice system” would allow Colombia to emerge from violence.

He added in another message that Rubio was interfering with Colombian sovereignty. “The world must respect Colombia’s judges,” Petro wrote.

Heredia said that her ruling should not be interpreted as “a victory for anyone” but as “an act of justice”.

State crimes

Critics blame Uribe for several state crimes.

According to Colombia’s Truth Commission, which was set up in 2017, more than 6,400 civilians were executed by the Colombian army and identified as members of rebel groups by soldiers seeking promotions during the conflict with paramilitary groups.

This phenomenon reportedly peaked during Uribe’s government.

Prosecutors accused Uribe of sending lawyers to meet with imprisoned ex-paramilitary members and pressuring them to withdraw testimony they had given to Cepeda.

During the trial, Uribe denied trying to manipulate the witnesses, but acknowledged requesting interviews with them as part of his preparation for the trial. He said this was also done to verify testimony that was also being used in a murder trial against his brother, Santiago Uribe, who was also accused of links to armed paramilitaries.

Cepeda spoke to the press after the ruling and said he would continue to fight for truth and justice for the victim of Colombia’s conflict.

“No one can defy or sully the rule of law,” he said.