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November 24, 2020 – 04:59 pm
Newsroom of El País
In the last hours, the Prosecutor’s Office filed an investigation against Santiago Uribe Vélez for alleged financing of a paramilitary bloc in Antioquia.
The Chamber of Knowledge of the Superior Court of Medellín opened the investigation in January 2017 based on statements by paramilitaries who accused the brother of former president Álvaro Uribe Vélez of subsidizing the Sureste bloc.
This case against the rancher, which is different from that of ‘Los 12 apóstoles’, was archived after prosecutor 128 stated that it was not possible to corroborate Uribe Vélez’s alleged financing of said paramilitary group.
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“It was not established that Mr. Santiago Uribe Vélez had met with members of that illegal organization, nor that he had arranged with them to agree on a sum of money as a contribution. It was not possible to establish that he requested any type of protection or to carry out conduct that contravened the punitive order, “said the prosecutor, according to a document known to El Tiempo.
The prosecutor’s decision indicates that the testimonies that relate to Uribe Vélez were contrasted with those of other people who also had made financial contributions to the Sureste block.
“Regarding the hypothetical responsibility that could fit Mr. Santiago Uribe Vélez, it is not clear whether he contributed or not. If we take his version and contrast it with the testimonies of the legal representatives and administrators of the brick plants in that sector, we will see that all of them and in unison have maintained that money was never requested from them, nor were individuals representing that paramilitary group presented from these companies, “the document states.
Case of ‘The 12 Apostles’
The case for the formation of paramilitary groups, in Yarumal, Antioquia, known as ‘Los 12 apóstoles’, and the murder of the driver Camilo Barrientos Durán, in 1994, which is brought against Uribe Vélez, is already in the final arguments phase .
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On January 26, 2021, a specialized judge from Medellín will listen to the defense arguments of the former president’s brother, the lawyer Jaime Granados, who will ask for his innocence.
It should be noted that the Prosecutor’s Office requested the conviction of the rancher for the crimes of conspiracy to commit a crime and homicide, while the Prosecutor’s Office only did it for the first crime.
At the hearing to be held in January, the judge will determine whether to convict or acquit Uribe Vélez.
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