Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe has been ordered on house arrest by the Colombian Supreme Court while itconducts a witness-tampering investigation. Much like the man himself, this arrest has had a polarising effect on the country, with demonstrations being held both in favour of and against his detention. Many, including current President Iván Duque, believe that the Supreme Court has acted ultra vires, attempting to dictate politics rather than focusing on the law. However, many human rights activists, who have been looking to see Uribe punished for a rather extensive list of alleged crimes, are hoping that he may finally be held accountable.
A POLARISING FIGURE
Uribe has always been a polarising figure in Colombian politics, with some Colombians crediting him for turning the tide in a civil conflict that lasted decades and others invoking his seeming disinterest in respecting human rights. Some of the nation’s gravest human rights abuses allegedly took place during his government, with some having even been ordered directly by him. He has further been accused of having ties to drug cartels and right-wing paramilitaries.
Despite his controversies, Uribe continues to have significant influence over Colombian politics. He is, for example,credited with launching Duque into the presidency in 2018, despite Duque’s relative youth and inexperience as acongressman at the time. Uribe’s campaign against a historic peace accord with leftist rebels led to the country voting “no” in 2016, leading to later modifications before the accord was adopted.
Currently, he is being investigated primarily for bribery of witnesses and procedural fraud, for which the Supreme Court said they have a “great quantity of evidentiary material”. This follows accusations made by Senator Iván Cepeda that Uribe was a founding member of a right-wing paramilitary group, the United Self Defence Forces of Colombia. Uribe himself accused Cepeda of slander for these accusations, but the case was dismissed by the Supreme Court. The Court subsequently opened an investigation against him for purportedly trying to bribe and sway witnesses who may testify against him. He is currently under house arrest due to this accusation only, which many find ironic due to the laundry list of his other alleged crimes, including those accusations made by Cepeda.
LOOKING AHEAD
Many people have deemed this an important case to follow due to the history of corruption in the courts of Colombia, which have failed to bring justice for many crimes due to power carried by those like Uribe. Human rights activists, amongst them Senator Cepeda, appear to be hopeful that this will bring around the right type of change, a step towards the creation of a country in which all citizens are equal before the law, regardless of wealth or power. Senator Cepeda himself stated: “I think this is a decision that will help us to consolidate democracy in Colombia. Today, something in Colombia has changed.” This hopeful tone is sure to be carried forward through the investigation and beyond, where many hope that Uribe will be the first of many to be held to account in a country which has seen some of the worst human rights atrocities in Latin America.
Natalya is a third year Law student at the University of Manchester. Her goal after university is to become a solicitor, where she hopes to continue helping to bring human rights issues to light. While at university, she is working with the Innocence Project to appeal miscarriages of justice and will be working with the Legal Advice Centre in the coming year.