Iván Duque’s defense of Uribe after the Prosecutor’s Office summons

Former President Iván Duque affirmed this Tuesday that former President Álvaro Uribe “will move forward” from the trial to which he was called for alleged bribery of witnesses and procedural fraud.

“Today we see with sadness this accusation that is announced against him after several requests for preclusion. This will be one more battle in his life, but his honesty will be above these circumstances,” said Duque, a member of the Uribista Centro Democrático party and who was president of Colombia between 2018 and 2022.

Precisely, the first prosecutor delegated to the Supreme Court of Justice, Gilberto Villarreal, who took on the case on January 16, presented this Tuesday an accusation against Uribe, who governed Colombia between 2002 and 2010.

This case began in 2012 when Uribe sued Iván Cepeda, a senator from the leftist Polo Democrático Alternativo (PDA), who at that time was preparing a complaint in Congress against him for alleged links with paramilitarism, for alleged witness manipulation.

However, the Supreme Court of Justice decided not to open an investigation against the congressman and, instead, initiated proceedings against the former president for witness manipulation.

In that sense, the Prosecutor’s Office stated today that, based on the physical evidence and probative elements, it concluded that there were reasons to accuse Uribe.

“Álvaro Uribe Vélez is, has been and will always be a patriot, a person who has given everything for Colombia, who has fought for our country, who has fought for justice in our country, who has bravely faced terrorism,” he stated. Duke.

He added that Uribe “has perhaps been the most scrutinized politician in the history of our country and not only his nobility, his chivalry, but also his honesty and transparency have always come to light.”

“Those of us who know him, have treated him, love him, know not only that he will succeed, but that the fact that he succeeds will also be the demonstration that true justice exists in Colombia,” Duque added.

Despite the accusation, Uribe will be able to respond to the process in freedom since that is normal in all cases and deprivation of liberty constitutes an exceptional measure, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.