00:00Álvaro Uribe Vélez has a new date with justice this September 4th.
00:03The Prosecutor's Office summoned him at 9 a.m. this Friday
00:06to give a statement as part of an investigation
00:08which seeks to establish two hypotheses that have remained unresolved for decades.
00:12The first question is whether, as governor of Antioquia, he would have promoted
00:15the formation of private paramilitary armies
00:18who perpetrated massacres in the department,
00:20as well as their alleged participation in those incursions by the criminal group.
00:24And the second, whether he had any responsibility in the murder of the Human Rights Defender
00:29Jesús María Valle Jaramillo, who denounced paramilitary massacres
00:32and the collusion of their criminal groups with state agents.
00:35To understand what is at stake in this new legal proceeding
00:38against the leader of the Democratic Center, in El Espectador we explain
00:41What are the key points of the case that has the former president in jail today?
00:44once again being held accountable before the law.
00:46What are the cases for which Álvaro Uribe Vélez is being investigated?
00:49The first of these is the San Roque massacre.
00:52In September 1996, a paramilitary group murdered several people
00:56in this municipality in northeastern Antioquia.
00:58The prosecution's investigation indicates that, allegedly,
01:01at the Huacharacas estate, then owned by the Uribe Vélez family,
01:04It was one of the places used by that private paramilitary army.
01:07Because of these events, which the Uribe family has categorically denied for years,
01:11The Prosecutor's Office is investigating the former president for conspiracy to commit a crime.
01:14The second event is the farm massacre.
01:16In June 1996, paramilitaries from the peasant self-defense groups of Córdoba and Urabá,
01:21under the command of the Castaño Gil brothers,
01:22They arrived in this district of Ituango
01:24and they murdered three farmers and a school teacher.
01:27In this case, the Prosecutor's Office seeks to establish what responsibility Uribe may have had.
01:31then governor of Antioquia,
01:33in the face of the paramilitary incursion,
01:34which generated the forced displacement of hundreds of people in the municipality.
01:37The Inter-American Court of Human Rights
01:39condemned the Colombian state for these acts
01:41upon discovering that there was a relationship between the public force
01:44and the paramilitaries who perpetrated the massacre,
01:47as well as not having investigated the matter.
01:48The third event is the Laro massacre.
01:50One year later, approximately 150 paramilitaries
01:53They arrived in this district of Ituango.
01:55During seven days, 17 people were murdered.
01:58They burned houses and stole livestock.
01:59and displaced the entire population of the district.
02:02The investigation also seeks to determine
02:04whether there was Uribe's involvement or omissions
02:06in response to this incursion that was carried out over seven days
02:09without any authority stopping the paramilitaries.
02:11Because of the Laro massacre,
02:13The Inter-American Court of Human Rights also condemned the Colombian State.
02:15under the same considerations that were taken into account
02:18in the farm's file.
02:19The fourth event is the murder of Jesús María Valle.
02:21This lawyer and councilman from Ituango
02:23He denounced paramilitary violence since 1996
02:26in your municipality
02:27and the alleged complicity of members of the Public Force
02:30with the Castaños Criminal Group.
02:31He also questioned the actions of then-Governor Uribe.
02:34and his Secretary of Government, Pedro Juan Moreno,
02:37in contrast to what was happening in Ituango.
02:39On February 27, 1998,
02:41hitmen sent by paramilitaries
02:43Human rights defender murdered in Medellín.
02:45Now, almost three decades later,
02:47The prosecution seeks to establish
02:49Uribe's alleged involvement
02:51in this homicide of a protected person.
02:53What does an investigation consist of?
02:55Since the events under investigation occurred between 1996 and 1998,
02:58The process against Uribe is governed by Law 600,
03:02the criminal procedure that was in force at that time.
03:05According to that legal framework,
03:06The investigation is a confidential proceeding.
03:08in which the investigated party, in this case Uribe,
03:10He has the opportunity to give his version of events
03:12that are attributed to him
03:13and by submitting it, he becomes formally linked to the criminal process.
03:16There is a key point about this procedure.
03:18The investigation does not mean that Uribe is guilty
03:20nor that he is automatically accused.
03:22The person under investigation may remain silent
03:24and he is not obliged to testify against himself.
03:27Why did the Prosecutor's Office summon Uribe for questioning?
03:28The prosecution maintains that,
03:30in his role as governor of Antioquia,
03:32Uribe would not have acted as he should have
03:33to address the security and public order situation
03:36in the department
03:37and thereby protect the civilian population
03:39of the paramilitary incursions in Ituango and San Roque.
03:41In his investigative call,
03:43The investigating body argued that,
03:45having fulfilled his duties as governor,
03:47The La Granja massacre would probably have been avoided.
03:50In the case of the hoop
03:51and on the creation of paramilitary structures,
03:54The prosecution indicated that he was possibly
03:55having asked his secretary of government,
03:57Pedro Juan Moreno,
03:58that he would speak with Carlos Castaño and Salvatore Mancuso
04:01to coordinate armed incursions with the Army.
04:04Regarding the possible relationship of the former president
04:06with the creation of a paramilitary structure
04:08in the municipality of San Roque
04:10and the murder of Jesús María Valle,
04:12The reasons given by the Prosecutor's Office are not clear so far.
04:14to link it to the investigation.
04:16What is former President Uribe's defense?
04:17Uribe has categorically denied
04:19any connection with creation
04:21or financing of paramilitary groups in Antioquia.
04:23When referring to the Huacharacas estate,
04:25that belonged to his family, he asserted
04:26My family never had paramilitary groups there,
04:29nor did he sponsor them.
04:30The former president has also maintained
04:31that the massacres of La Granja and El Aro
04:33They took him by surprise.
04:34As governor of Antioquia,
04:36I was shocked by both massacres.
04:38There is not a single piece of evidence with which they can say
04:39that I had advance information.
04:41In response to the paramilitaries who have testified against him,
04:44like Salvatore Mancuso,
04:45He said that these are unfounded statements.
04:47and that it is an act of revenge,
04:49since it was his government that extradited him to the United States.
04:51And what comes next after the investigation in the case against Uribe?
04:54The prosecution can continue collecting evidence
04:56and when you consider the investigation complete,
04:59You must make a decision.
05:00He can bring Uribe to trial
05:01if you find elements that link them
05:03with the crimes investigated
05:05or, conversely, order the case to be filed,
05:07if you believe there is no basis
05:09to bring him to trial.
05:10This would not, moreover,
05:11Uribe's first interrogation.
05:12In October 2019,
05:14he testified for seven hours
05:15before the Investigating Chamber of the Supreme Court
05:17through the related process
05:18with the alleged manipulation of witnesses.
05:20And so, we arrive at this new appointment
05:22with the justice system of former President Álvaro Uribe Vélez.
05:24We invite you to learn more details
05:26of this process
05:26in the investigation and judicial sections
05:28on elespectador.com
05:30And don't forget to follow us on our social media.
05:33Supreme Court Investigating Chamber
05:36And don't forget to follow us on our social media.
05:42Thank you!
05:42Thank you!
05:43Thank you!
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