Colombia’s trial of the century trial enters final stretch – Colombia News

The trial against Colombia’s former President Alvaro Uribe entered its final stretch on Tuesday when the prosecution began its closing statement.

Over the past months, the prosecution presented more than 40 witnesses, dozens of wiretap recordings and documents to prove that Uribe bribed witnesses to fabricate criminal charges against those investigating his alleged ties to paramilitary groups.

Prosecutor Marlene Orjuela said last week that she needed no more than two days to make her case before the Bogota court.

The alleged victims of Uribe’s fraud and bribery practices and the Inspector General’s Office said they would need one day each.

The former president and his defense attorney will be given as much time as the prosecution and the alleged victims to convince the judge of the Uribe’s innocence.

After this, judge Sandra Heredia will decide whether or to convict the former president, a decision that is expected to be appealed by either side.

Based on the testimonies and documentary evidence that has been exposed, the prosecutor will likely claim that Uribe led a criminal conspiracy that sought to manipulate witnesses, and smear politicians and prosecution officials with the testimonies of bribed witnesses.

The main targets of this alleged conspiracy were Senator Ivan Cepeda, Justice Minister Eduardo Montealegre and two former members of paramilitary organization AUC who testified that Uribe and his brother helped found the Bloque Metro death squad in the 1990’s.

Since 2018, when the Supreme Court began a preliminary investigation into the alleged conspiracy, 14 of the former president’s witnesses have been indicted for allegedly giving false testimony before the court.

Despite evidence suggesting otherwise, Uribe has always sustained that he never asked or paid witnesses to lie on his behalf.

The remainder of the judicial process, which includes a possible appeal before a higher court, will have to end before mid October to avoid a violation of legal term limits.