Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe says U.S. officials told him they had been warned that he would lead a coup if the Constitutional Court did not approve his second re-election.
In an interview with newspaper El Colombiano, Uribe said that while in Washington as a guest lecturer at Georgetown University “I have had the opportunity to talk to a lot of people who have told me that ‘Very important people from Colombia came here to say that the American federal government and Congress were preparing themselves because you were going to lead a coup if the Constitutional Court did not approve your re-election.'”
The former president said he heard about the alleged coup plans with “dismay or disdain. Because when you know about the spontaneity of your own democratic convictions, it looks strange.”
Uribe’s re-election was ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court in February. The president won praise from U.S. president Barack Obama for his acceptance of the result.
