The United States government asked a Washington judge for more time to decide whether to grant political immunity to Colombia’s ex-president Alvaro Uribe.
Colombia has asked the U.S. to grant political immunity to its former president to prevent him from appearing in a civil case against U.S. coal giant Drummond.
According to State Department Virginia Staab, Washington needs until March 11 to decide whether to grant the immunity or not.
The court is currently deciding whether the former president must be obliged to appear in a civil case against Alabama-based Drummond for the company’s alleged links to paramilitary group AUC.
Uribe was subpoenead by a human rights activist after giving a lecture at Georgetown University in Washington D.C.
Victims of paramilitary violence in Colombia accuse Drummond of having paid the AUC between 1999 and 2005, during which 116 civilians were killed in the region where the coal company operates. The plaintiffs claim members of Uribe’s government tried to suppress evidence of Drummond’s alleged backing of the illegal militias.
