Colombia’s prosecution fiercely criticized the press for releasing evidence of the alleged fraud and bribery practices of former President Alvaro Uribe on Monday.
Controversial prosecutor Gabriel Jaimes began exposing his arguments to file away a criminal investigation against Uribe, who resigned from the Senate to evade a Supreme Court detention order last year.
Colombia’s prosecution misinforms court over Uribe’s alleged death squad
According to the Supreme Court, evidence indicates that the former president used bribery to manipulate witnesses and file fraudulent charges against opposition Senator Ivan Cepeda.
Uribe’s early retirement from politics forced the high court to forward the criminal case to a lower court after which Jaimes began all kinds of efforts to absolve Uribe.
Attempts to file the investigation away without court approval failed and Jaimes was forced to convince a judge despite Supreme Court evidence indicating the former president’s witness tampering practices.
The prosecutor began stressing that allowing Uribe to get away with crimes was in “the common good of society.”
The Prosecutor’s Office does not act for the applause of the gallery, nor does it condescend to particular interests. It simply and plainly fulfills its legal duties in order to promote values and principles that enrich the common good of society.
Prosecutor Gabriel Jaimes
The former president allegedly tried to manipulate witnesses who had testified that the Uribe family helped found one of Colombia’s most bloodthirsty death squads in the 1990’s.
Multiple witnesses against Uribe and his political allies from the Antioquia province have been assassinated.
Prosecutor General Francisco Barbosa is a loyal supporter of the political patron of President Ivan Duque, one of the chief prosecutor’s best friends.
Colombia’s prosecution asks court to drop Uribe investigation despite evidence
Barbosa initially appointed Jaimes as a delegate before the Supreme Court and subsequently as the lead prosecutor in the Uribe case.
The Supreme Court continues to investigate the former president’s alleged conspiracy with a drug trafficking organization to rig the 2018 elections in the favor of his protégé.
If the Bogota judge agrees to drop the investigation against Uribe, the former president’s alleged victims my appeal.
