Former Agriculture Minister Andres Felipe Arias, on trial for allegedly embezzling $25 million in government funds, did not steal one peso, said his then-employer, ex-President Alvaro Uribe Saturday.
Uribe, speaking in the town of Tunja during one of his “democratic workshops,” defended Arias, claiming his former protege “has not stolen one peso; there is no evidence that can link him to the embezzlement of state money.”
The former president said he had visited Arias to express his support for his disgraced former employee, who this week was also barred from holding public for 16 years for allegedly using government subsidies to gather political support while aspiring to be the Conservative Party’s candidate in the 2010 presidential elections.
A judge is expected to rule on Tuesday if the former minister will have to await trial in jail or can stay at liberty until at least after the trial.
