What comes next for Álvaro Uribe and what does his freedom imply in the process?

This Saturday, October 10, Judge 30 of guarantees Clara Ximena Salcedo decided that former President Álvaro Uribe would regain his freedom, after spending two months in house arrest at his El Ubérrimo farm.

The ruling of the togada was supported by the defense argument of the also former senator of the Republic that argued that for the existence of an insurance measure In the system of Law 906, it is mandatory that an imputation formulation hearing be held first.

The case of bribery of witnesses and procedural fraud for which Álvaro Uribe is being investigated it has brought legal and political repercussions to the country’s already polarized environment. But what is coming and what does this decision mean?

Legally, the freedom of the former senator does not mean that the process is over, since there are hundreds of evidence – according to the Semana Magazine that had access to the file – that still have to be analyzed by the Prosecutor’s Office and debated by a judge of knowledge.

The declaration of guilt or innocence does not depend on the judge who ruled this Saturday in favor of the former president of Antioquia. It will depend on the strength of the evidence from each of the parties and the debate in court.

The prosecutor in charge of the case, Gabriel Jaimes, is tasked with reviewing the evidence to decide whether to accuse or acquit the former president. Regardless of the decision; it will be a judge of guarantees who endorses the path taken by the accusing entity.

If a formal accusation is made against the leader of the Democratic Center, it remains to be determined on what terms and with what charges. The most likely thing is that it will happen, since Diego Cadena, who was Uribe’s lawyer and is involved in the process, has already been formally accused of the same events. According to the Semana publication, it is more likely that the Prosecutor’s Office makes a less serious qualification and that the crimes and criminal implications are different.

According to Héctor Riveros, in his column published in La Silla Vacía, Uribe’s release has a serious impact on the trust of the institutions and “It will surely deepen the enormous polarization that exists in society.”

“The first and most affected will be, of course, the judiciary, in this case twice, because Uribe ratifies its position that justice is politicized and, especially that the Supreme Court of Justice is made up of magistrates who put their political positions to the legal bases and that he has been doing it for more than ten years to persecute it, ”Riveros wrote in his column.

For Riveros, another affected person will be the attorney general Francisco Barbosa himself, since it is evident that as a personal friend of President Duque, he was going to put the entity at the service of Uribe’s political sector.

“If before Uribe’s freedom was decreed, many people thought that there was a biased Prosecutor’s Office now, for that sector, there will be no valid reason to argue otherwise,” he added.

Politically, spirits are heated, because this path taken by justice has caused the discussion between Uribistas and anti-Uribistas to intensify on social networks. From the Government this is a positive point for his image, since it did not do well to President Iván Duque, who arrived at the House of Nariño anointed by the former president, that his mentor and ally was detained.

For this reason, the Government celebrated the freedom of Álvaro Uribe Vélez, although it was not the president himself, but Diego Molano Aponte, director of the Administrative Department of the Presidency of the Republic (Dapre); who is very close to the president of the Colombians. Molano argued that the judicial decision is a “good message for the country, for him and his family.”

“I celebrate the decision that the judge made today so that former President Álvaro Uribe Vélez can defend himself in freedom,” he wrote on Twitter. When Uribe’s arrest occurred, Molano Aponte was one of the first to show his support for him.

For his part, Polo Senator Iván Cepeda, who acts as a victim in the process against Uribe, could consider the decision as a defeat, since the Uribe troops have been thrown at the ready against the Senator from the Democratic Polo.

Cepeda maintained that he respects, but does not share, the decision made by the control judge 30 guarantees to grant the former president freedom.

“The judge’s decision does not alter my intimate conviction of respect for justice and compliance with her decisions. We do not share that decision, of course, and we are going to appeal ”, assured the Senator through a video on his Twitter account.

For Cepeda, one of the biggest concerns was the performance of the prosecutor Gabriel Jaimes Durán, during the judicial proceeding, who, according to the congressman, developed “a political script.”

Senator Iván Cepeda, along with his team of lawyers, announced that it will file an appeal to the judicial decision.

“We are going to appeal the decision and continue fighting in the judicial courts, since we also have the very low conviction of the responsibility of former senator Uribe in the crimes of bribery and procedural fraud.”