Colombia’s former president is expected to respond to allegations linking him to killings committed by paramilitary forces.
On Friday, former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe is due to appear at a questioning hearing before the Attorney General’s Office, where he is expected to respond to questions about his links to killings committed by paramilitary forces between 1995 and 1998, a period when he served as governor of Antioquia.
RELATED:
De la Espriella Faces Backlash for Displaying Corpses After Military Operation in Colombia
The judicial proceeding will take place after the Attorney General’s Office rejected requests from the defense of the far-right politician to postpone the hearing again. More specifically, Uribe will have to provide his account of the following events:
The Killing of Peasants in La Granja
This massacre occurred June 11, 1996, in the district of La Granja, in the municipality of Ituango, where about 30 members of paramilitary forces known as the Peasant Self-Defense Forces of Cordoba and Uraba (ACCU) entered the town, executed four peasants accused of collaborating with guerrillas, and forced dozens of families to flee.
The El Aro Massacre
Between Oct. 22 and 31, 1997, Miners’ Block paramilitaries carried out a massacre in El Aro hamlet, in the municipality of Ituango. During more than a week of terror, these far-right forces massacred 15 peasants and Indigenous people, tortured several victims, burned most of the homes in the hamlet and stole more than 1,000 cattle. This generated a humanitarian crisis and the mass exodus of the rural population.
The Killing of Jesus Valle
On Feb. 27, 1998, gunmen from the La Terraza group, acting on orders from the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), assassinated human rights defender Jesus Valle in Medellin. Previously, the lawyer had denounced the relationship between the La Granja and El Aro massacres and members of Colombia’s state security forces, the Antioquia governor’s office, and far-right paramilitary groups.
Aquí en Video Uribe reunido con Paramilitares. Monsalve tiene razón.#UribeEnJuicio
Vía: @NoticiasUno pic.twitter.com/uTqHFoK8t1
— Juan David Pedraza L (@juanda158392211) February 28, 2025
The text reads, “This video shows Uribe meeting with paramilitaries. Monsalve is right.”
In hearings concerning these events, the Attorney General’s Office has investigated testimony from former paramilitary leaders such as Francisco Villalba and Salvatore Mancuso, who said paramilitary forces held meetings with senior officials from the Antioquia governor’s office.
Uribe’s lawyers have said the accusations are the result of a conspiracy based on false accounts and maintain that the former Colombian president always fought groups operating outside the law.
Under Colombia’s justice system, the questioning constitutes the procedural stage during which the accused exercises their right to a defense and responds to the prosecutor’s questions, providing key input for determining whether the case is dismissed or moves toward subsequent formal proceedings.
On this occasion, Alvaro Uribe will respond to allegations of the crimes of conspiracy to commit crimes and homicide of a protected person.
The Attorney General’s Office is also investigating his connection to the formation of a paramilitary structure headquartered at the Guacharacas ranch, owned by the Uribe Velez family, during the 1990s, a period in which other violent acts occurred, including cases of forced disappearance.
teleSUR/ JF
Sources: Agencia de Periodismo Investigativo – El Tiempo
From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.