Colombia’s Superior Tribunal of Bogotá has overturned the conviction of former president Álvaro Uribe Vélez, declaring him innocent of bribery and witness tampering in one of the country’s most divisive political trials in decades.
The ruling by the tribunal’s Criminal Chamber revoked an earlier judgment by Bogotá’s 44th Circuit Court, which in August sentenced Uribe to 12 years of house arrest. In its second-instance decision, the tribunal concluded that the lower court failed to properly assess key evidence and that there was insufficient proof – whether physical, testimonial, or technical – to sustain a guilty verdict against the 72-year-old ex-president.
“The court finds that the previous judgment omitted to contrast witness statements with the totality of the evidentiary record, thereby undermining judicial coherence,” read the ruling. The magistrates added that the original decision “lacked objectivity and demonstrated argumentative bias,” citing “generic premises” and “deficiencies in reasoning.”
The decision marks a stunning reversal in a case that has polarized Colombia to its very core, pitting Uribe supporters – who see him as a hero who saved the country from collapse – against critics who accuse him of human rights violations and collusion with paramilitary death squads during his 2002–2010 presidency.
Uribe had been convicted in August of fraud and bribery for allegedly attempting to influence witness testimony to discredit Iván Cepeda, a hard-left Senator and long-time political adversary. Cepeda had accused Uribe of involvement in the creation of paramilitary groups in the 1990s.
The tribunal, however, found that the testimonies of ex-paramilitaries Carlos Enrique Vélez, known by his alias ‘Víctor’, and Juan Guillermo Monsalve, were riddled with inconsistencies. Vélez, who claimed he had been offered money by Uribe’s former attorney Diego Cadena to change his story, “incurred in significant contradictions,” the judges said.
According to the court, there was no conclusive evidence that Uribe ordered his lawyer to offer payments or legal favors to secure retractions. “The supposed offers remain speculative and unsupported by corroborated testimony,” the ruling stated.
The tribunal further criticized the lower court’s handling of witness statements from Monsalve, whose testimony formed the basis of the original conviction. It determined that Uribe had not directed any attempt to influence Monsalve while he was imprisoned in Bogotá’s maximum security prison La Picota.
Uribe’s defense appealed the August verdict, arguing that due process was violated and that the conviction was “built on conjecture rather than fact.”
“This is a victory for justice and the rule of law,” said Uribe’s lawyer Jaime Granados following the announcement. “President Uribe has always maintained his innocence, and today the court has confirmed that the accusations lacked any legal foundation.”
Uribe, who governed Colombia with unwavering U.S. support during the height of the internal conflict with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla, has always denied wrongdoing, claiming that he was the victim of a politically motivated smear campaign to destroy his legacy.
The original 12-year sentence made the former Colombian head of state the first to be convicted – and arrested – for a crimes he did not commit. Tuesday’s reversal effectively will clear his name, marking a dramatic vindication for the ex-president and his party, Centro Democrático, ahead of the 2026 elections.
