Colombian parapolitics scandal - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Colombian parapolitics scandal or "parapolítica" in Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

(a combination of the words paramilitar
Paramilitarism in Colombia
Paramilitarism in Colombia refers to the origins and activities of far right-wing paramilitary groups in Colombia during the 20th century.Right-wing paramilitary groups are the parties considered to be most responsible for human rights violations in Colombia during the later half of the current...

and política
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...

) refers to the 2006–present Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

n congressional

Congress of Colombia

The Congress of the Republic of Colombia is the name given to Colombia's bicameral national legislature.The Congress of Colombia consists of the 102-seat Senate , and the 166-seat Chamber of Representatives ...

scandal in which several congressmen and other politicians have been indicted for suspicions of colluding with the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia

United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia

The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia was created as an umbrella organization of regional far-right...

(AUC), a paramilitary group which is responsible for killing thousands of Colombian civilians.

In February 2007, Colombian Senator Jorge Enrique Robledo suggested another term, "parauribismo" , indicating that the scandal was mainly affecting officials or political allies of President Álvaro Uribe

Álvaro Uribe

Alvaro Uribe Vélez was the 58th President of Colombia, from 2002 to 2010. In August 2010 he was appointed Vice-chairman of the UN panel investigating the Gaza flotilla raid....

's administration.

By April 22, 2008, 62 members of Congress were official suspects. 33 lawmakers, including Mario Uribe Escobar

Mario Uribe Escobar

Mario de Jesús Uribe Escobar is a Colombian politician and lawyer. Uribe-Escobar graduated in Law from the Autonomous University of Medellín and the University of Antioquia.-Political career:...

, President Uribe's cousin and former President of Congress, were in jail awaiting trial.

Background

Relations between politicians, government officials, security forces, other sectors of Colombian society and paramilitary groups have developed for years, resulting in the latter's infiltration of Colombian politics and government.

According to the newspaper El Tiempo, one of the paramilitary leaders involved, Rodrigo Tovar Pupo

Rodrigo Tovar Pupo

Rodrigo Tovar Pupo, was born in Valledupar, Colombia. He was the leader of the Northern Bloc of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia...

, sought to achieve total power in the Atlantic Coast and eventually over Colombia. To achieve this, he and other paramilitary leaders contacted politicians both before, during and after the AUC demobilizations.

In 2001, some 32 people, including members of congress, politicians, paramilitary leaders and others, met at Santa Fe de Ralito

Santa Fe de Ralito

Santa Fe de Ralito is a small ranching outpost in Cordoba, Colombia. It was also the home base for the former leader of the AUC, Salvatore Mancuso, as well as other leaders and 400 of their bodyguards. As part of the late 2004 demobilizations these people were given a temporary 142 square mile ...

in order to sign a secret document known as the Pact of Paramillo Knot or as the "Pact of Ralito". The text of the document called for "refounding the country", signing a new social contract and maintaining national independence, among other statements. When the document's existence was revealed in late 2006, participants such as former congresswoman Elenora Pineda have argued that the document sought to be a contribution to the search of peace in Colombia. Opposition senator Juan Manuel López Cabrales, who also signed the document, argued that he did so in ignorance and under pressure

After the demobilizations had concluded and the scandal broke, several arrests have been made, most recently on February 15, 2007. Senator

Senate of Colombia

The Senate of the Republic of Colombia is the upper house of the Congress of Colombia, with the lower house being the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia...

Álvaro Araújo Castro

Álvaro Araújo Castro is a Colombian economist and former actor and Senator of Colombia. A Liberal politician, and leader of the ALAS-Team Colombia political movement, he was arrested and jailed in 2007 for participating in parapolitics...

, brother of former foreign minister

Foreign minister

A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...

María Consuelo Araújo

Maria Consuelo Araujo

María Consuelo Araújo Castro is a Colombian politician. In 2006 she was appointed Minister of Foreign Relations of the government of President Álvaro Uribe Vélez...

, was among five congressmen arrested on that day. Also arrested were Mauricio Pimiento

Mauricio Pimiento

Mauricio Pimiento Barrera is a Colombian politician, former Senator of Colombia. Pimiento was arrested on February 16, 2007 after being involved in the Para-political scandal...

, Dieb Maloof, Alfonso Campo Escobar, and Luis Eduardo Vives. His arrest lead to her resignation four days later.

The Supreme Court

Supreme Court of Colombia

The Supreme Court of Colombia in Bogotá is the highest judicial body in civil and penal matters and issues of criminal and civil procedure in Colombia...

investigation into ties between paramilitary groups and congress has been based largely on files discovered on a laptop computer belonging to the organization of former paramilitary leader Rodrigo Tovar Pupo

Rodrigo Tovar Pupo

Rodrigo Tovar Pupo, was born in Valledupar, Colombia. He was the leader of the Northern Bloc of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia...

, aka Jorge 40.

Political involvement

The so-called "para-political scandal" was set in motion in June 2005 after Clara López Obregón, a member of the opposition Alternative Democratic Pole

Alternative Democratic Pole

The Alternative Democratic Pole is a political alliance in Colombia, formed by the Independent Democratic Pole and the Democratic Alternative in December 2005...

party, formally denounced before the Colombian Supreme Court the existence of links between paramilitaries

Paramilitarism in Colombia

Paramilitarism in Colombia refers to the origins and activities of far right-wing paramilitary groups in Colombia during the 20th century.Right-wing paramilitary groups are the parties considered to be most responsible for human rights violations in Colombia during the later half of the current...

and some congressmen. Previously, paramilitary leader Salvatore Mancuso

Salvatore Mancuso

Salvatore Mancuso Gómez, also known as "el Mono Mancuso","Santander Lozada" or "Triple Cero", among other names is a Colombian paramilitary leader, once second in command of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia paramilitary group...

had said during an interview that some 35% of the elected Congress in 2002

Colombian legislative election, 2002

Legislative elections were held in Colombia on 10 March 2002. They were won by the Colombian Liberal Party....

were friendly towards their group.

The confiscation of a laptop computer belonging to the organization of paramilitary leader Jorge 40 gave increased momentum to the scandal. It contained numerous files that mentioned or implicated politicians and members of the security forces that collaborated with his paramilitary force.

First arrests

On November 9, 2006, the Supreme Court ordered the detention of three implicated congressmen.

Álvaro García

Congressman Álvaro García was accused based on charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated delinquency, aggravated homicide

Homicide

Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...

, and embezzlement

Embezzlement

Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....

. García was accused by the Supreme Court for organizing, promoting, arming and financing illegal paramilitary groups in the Sucre Department

Sucre Department

Sucre is a department in the Caribbean Region of Colombia. The department ranks 27th by area, and it has a population of 772,010, ranking 20th of all the 32 departments of Colombia...

since 1997, for participating in the Macayepo Massacre

Macayepo massacre

The Macayepo massacre occurred in October, 2000 resulting in the slaughter of fifteen peasants from Macayepo in the southern region of Bolívar Department, northern Colombia...

in the year 2000 in which 20 peasants were massacred, for the assassination of Georgina Narváez Wilchez on November 19, 1997 and the appropriation of public funds to finance paramilitary groups.

Jairo Merlano

Congressman Jairo Merlano was accused by the Supreme Court and six witnesses of being a formal member of one of the AUC paramilitary groups led by men known by the aliases of "Diego Vecino" (Edward Cobo) and "Cadena" (Rodrigo Mercado Pelufo) among others.

Erick Morris

Congressman Erick Morris was accused by one witness of having ties to paramilitary groups. Congressman Álvaro García was one of his political mentors.

María Consuelo Araújo

On November 15, 2006 the then Minister of Foreign Relations, María Consuelo Araújo

Maria Consuelo Araujo

María Consuelo Araújo Castro is a Colombian politician. In 2006 she was appointed Minister of Foreign Relations of the government of President Álvaro Uribe Vélez...

, met with the Attorney General

Attorney General

In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...

and her brother, Senator Álvaro Araújo Castro

Álvaro Araújo Castro

to inquire about the existence of any investigations against her family. Two days later her brother Álvaro was identified as part of the investigation. On November 22, minister Araújo publicly announced that the meeting had taken place.

During a debate in the Senate

Senate of Colombia

The Senate of the Republic of Colombia is the upper house of the Congress of Colombia, with the lower house being the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia...

on November 29, 2006, senate members of the Alternative Democratic Pole

Alternative Democratic Pole

The Alternative Democratic Pole is a political alliance in Colombia, formed by the Independent Democratic Pole and the Democratic Alternative in December 2005...

(PDA) headed by Jorge Enrique Robledo and members of the Liberal Party

Colombian Liberal Party

The Colombian Liberal Party is a center-left party in Colombia that adheres to social democracy and social liberalism.The Party was founded in 1848 and, together with the Colombian Conservative Party, subsequently became one of the two main political forces in the country for over a century.After...

headed by Cecilia López Montaño

Cecilia López Montaño

Cecilia Matilde López Montaño has been in public service in Colombia for over twenty years thanks to a solid professional background. Senator López is a well-known economist and Colombian politician. She has always been an active member of the Liberal Party and as such, has been appointed to...

asked for the Minister's resignation due to her brother's ties to the paramilitaries. Most claimed that they had no personal complaints against her, but that she should not remain in her position.

As late as February 18, she refused calls for her to step down and received a statement of support from President

President of Colombia

The President of Colombia is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Colombia. The office of president was established upon the ratification of the Constitution of 1819, by the Congress of Angostura, convened in December 1819, when Colombia was part of "la Gran Colombia"...

Álvaro Uribe

Alvaro Uribe Vélez was the 58th President of Colombia, from 2002 to 2010. In August 2010 he was appointed Vice-chairman of the UN panel investigating the Gaza flotilla raid....

, who had previously rejected her resignation. However, after her brother's arrest, her second resignation was accepted by the president on February 19, 2007. Uribe selected former Development Minister Fernando Araújo Perdomo

Fernando Araújo Perdomo

Fernando Araújo Perdomo is a Colombian politician. He was the Minister of Development during the administration of Andrés Pastrana. He resigned from this post after the Chambacú land deal scandal. He was later kidnapped by the FARC-EP guerrillas and held for six years until he eventually escaped...

as her replacement, just weeks after his escape from six years as a FARC hostage.

Álvaro Araújo

On November 21, 2006 members of the pro-Uribe caucus met in the Palacio de Nariño to discuss the Supreme Court decision on the three jailed congressmen. In that meeting Senator Álvaro Araújo Castro

Álvaro Araújo Castro

mentioned;
When knowledge of this remark was leaked to the press, Araújo explained that he was talking about the possible political toll of the scandal and not about judicial responsibilities. After this controversial comment, Araújo temporarily resigned from his party, Alas-Team Colombia

Team Colombia

Team Colombia is a conservative political party in Colombia.At the last legislative elections, 10 March 2002, the party won, as one of the many small parties, parliamentary representation. It joined forces with ALAS, another small party, for the 2006 legislative election. In the election of 2006,...

, on November 29, 2006. He was called to testify to the Supreme Court.

On February 15, 2007 he was arrested by an order from the Supreme Court, which found enough evidence to continue investigating him for his alleged ties to paramilitary groups and for the crimes of kidnapping with extortion.

Hernando Molina Araújo

The governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

of Cesar Department

Cesar Department

Cesar Department or simply Cesar is a department of Colombia located in the north of the country in the Caribbean region, bordering to the north with the Department of La Guajira, to the west with the Department of Magdalena and Department of Bolivar, to the south with Department of Santander, to...

, Hernando Molina Araújo

Hernando Molina Araújo

Hernando César Molina Araújo is a Colombian politician. Son of Hernando Molina Céspedes and Consuelo Araújo, he studied at the Colegio Nacional Loperena in Valledupar and later studied Law in the Antonio Nariño University, but dropped out. He declares himself a self-taught man...

, is accused of handling the money of the paramilitary leader "Jorge 40" during his time as diplomat

Diplomat

A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...

in Guatemala

Guatemala

Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

and co-authoring a massacre.

During the elections of 2003 Molina Araújo was accused of benefiting from the paramilitary decision to support his candidacy over the two other contestants Cristian Moreno Panezo

Cristian Moreno Panezo

Cristian Moreno Panezo is a Colombian politician and lawyer from the Universidad del Atlantico with a specialization in constitutional law from the National University of Colombia. On October 28, 2007 Moreno was elected as Governor of Cesar Department for the period 2008-2011...

and Abraham Romero who were threatened and forced to resign by the paramilitaries.

DAS scandal

On November 21, 2006, Rafael García Torres, the former Information Technologies Chief of the Administrative Department of Security (DAS)

Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad

The Administrative Department of Security was the Security Service agency of Colombia, also responsible for the immigration services. It was dissolved on 31 October 2011 as part of a wider Executive Reform, and it was superseded by the National Directorate of Intelligence, DNI.- Activities :Its...

(Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad) was questioned by the Supreme Court after being arrested and charged with taking bribes from paramilitaries and narcotraffickers in exchange for erasing or altering their judicial history from the state intelligence database. García claimed to have knowledge of Jorge 40's plans to corrupt congressmen and install those friendly to his causes.

García had already contended that former chief of DAS Jorge Noguera maintained a close relationship with Jorge 40 and that they met several times to talk about local politics, including support for candidates in the 2003] municipal, gubernatorial and presidential elections, among them the Magdalena Department

Magdalena Department

Magdalena is a department of Colombia, located to the north of the country by the Caribbean Sea. The capital of the Magdalena Department is Santa Marta and was named after the Magdalena River...

governor Trino Luna and in the Cesar Department

Cesar Department

with Hernando Molina Araújo

Hernando Molina Araújo

, among others.

President Uribe publicly asked Noguera to appear before the Attorney General's office, but Noguera refused alleging economic and security reasons. Noguera was then acting consul-general

Consul (representative)

The political title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries...

in Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. He later resigned, returned to the country and appeared before judicial authorities. On February 22, 2007 Noguera was arrested, accused of having ties to paramilitaries.

On June 11, 2008, the Colombian Supreme Court ordered the immediate release of Jorge Noguera. According to the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective, Noguera was only released to due to procedural defects; however the charges against him -conspiracy to commit a crime, misuse of authority through an arbitrary and unjust act, and improper use of classified or secret information- may still be prosecuted.

Judicial branch scandal

The former president of the Superior Council of Judicature

Superior Council of Judicature

Superior Council of Judicature is Colombian institution part of the judicial branch of Colombia in charge of adopting a yearly report which is presented to the Congress of Colombia with a detailed report on justice handling in Colombia...

, José Alfredo Escobar Araújo acknowledged that he had a friendship with Italian

Italy

mobster Giorgio Sale, but denied knowledge of Sale's activities as narcotrafficker. Sale has been associated with paramilitary leader Salvatore Mancuso

Salvatore Mancuso

, himself accused of money laundering

Money laundering

Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...

, and the Italian mafia group known as 'Ndrangheta.

On November 28, 2006 Escobar Araújo said that he would accept any decision and obey any orders from the Magistrates of the Penal Chamber of Judicature regarding his connection to Sale.

Escobar Araújo's wife, Ana Margarita Fernández, was an official in the Inspector General

Inspector General

An Inspector General is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is Inspectors General.-Bangladesh:...

's office. Escobar resigned the presidency of the Superior Council on November 30 but continued as a magistrate of that body.

President Álvaro Uribe

On November 15, 2006, former president and leader of the opposing Liberal Party

Colombian Liberal Party

, César Gaviria

César Gaviria

César Gaviria Trujillo is a Colombian politician and a Latin American statesman. He served as President of Colombia from 1990 to 1994, and Secretary General of the Organization of American States from 1994 until 2004.-Early life:...

, made a call to support the Supreme Court on the situation and uncover the truth behind the paramilitary-politicians links. He alleged that problems were not only in congress, but also in other sectors of Colombian society. He further alleged that other elected officials indirectly benefited from the paramilitary pressure over voters.
-Cesar Gaviria

Two days later on November 17, in a speech directed to the Supreme Court, president Uribe reacted to the Court's decision to indict any politician linked to paramilitaries and said that "criminal responsibilities are individual" and that "the truth that was surfacing was a result of his democratic security

Democratic security

Democratic security or Democratic security policy refers to a Colombian security policy implemented during the administration of President Álvaro Uribe...

plan and the demobilization process of the paramilitary groups". He also mentioned that "the nation needed to know the links between politicians and the guerrilla groups" and that "the judicial and political search for truth for past and present events done by guerrillas and paramilitaries should be supported"

On November 29, prior to a debate in Congress, president Uribe reasserted that penal responsibility was individual and that it was necessary to investigate politicians with ties to guerrillas. He also commented that the suspect congressmen were being accused for acts perpetrated before he assumed the presidency in 2002 as a way of distancing himself from the growing scandal. On the same day, the former Interior Minister during President Samper

Ernesto Samper

Ernesto Samper Pizano is a Colombian politician. He served as the President of Colombia from August 7, 1994 to August 7, 1998, representing the Liberal Party. He was involved in the 8000 process scandal, which takes its name from the folio number assigned to it by the chief prosecutor's office...

's administration and prominent Liberal Party leader, Horacio Serpa

Horacio Serpa

Horacio Serpa Uribe is a Colombian politician and lawyer. Horacio Serpa has run as the Colombian Liberal Party candidate for President of Colombia on three occasions; in 1998, 2002, and 2006...

, called for the Chamber of Representative

Chamber of Representatives of Colombia

The Chamber of Representatives is the lower house of the Congress of Colombia.The Chamber has 166 elected members for four-year terms.-How the Chamber is elected:...

's Commission of Accusations to investigate President Uribe's possible links to paramilitaries.

On April 23, 2008, President Uribe revealed that a former paramilitary fighter had accused him of helping to plan a 1997 massacre, a charge which he said was under official investigation. Uribe described the accuser as a "disgruntled convict with an axe to grind", denied the charges and said there was proof of his innocence. The Colombian newsweekly Revista Semana

Revista Semana

Semana or Revista Semana is a Colombian-based weekly magazine. It was founded in 1946 by Alberto Lleras Camargo , but was shut down after a controversial cover depicting Cuban leader Fidel Castro.In 1983, journalist Felipe López Caballero re-founded the magazine...

reported that the paramilitary in question, Francisco Enrique Villalba Hernández, had not mentioned Uribe during previous declarations made more than five years ago, when he was sentenced for his own role in the massacre. The magazine also listed a number of possible inconsistencies in his most recent testimony, including the alleged presence of General Hernando Manosalva, who had died months before the date of the meeting where the massacre was planned.

His cousin and former Colombian senator, Mario Uribe, was arrested under suspicion of ties to the right-wing paramilitary groups.

Salvador Arana

Former governor of the Sucre Department

Sucre Department

Sucre is a department in the Caribbean Region of Colombia. The department ranks 27th by area, and it has a population of 772,010, ranking 20th of all the 32 departments of Colombia...

and former ambassador to Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

, Salvador Arana was accused of homicide. The Attorney Generals Office accused him of being the mastermind behind the assassination of Eduardo Díaz mayor of a town named El Roble

El Roble, Sucre

El Roble is a town and municipality located in the Sucre Department, northern Colombia.-References:...

. Díaz had publicly warned that he had been threatened by the paramilitaries. Arana was formally accused by a demobilized paramilitary member called Jairo Castillo aka "Pitirry".

Nancy Patricia Gutiérrez

Colombia’s Supreme Court announced on April 18, 2008 they are investigating President of Congress Nancy Patricia Gutiérrez

Nancy Patricia Gutiérrez

Nancy Patricia Gutiérrez Castañeda is a Colombian lawyer and politician. She served as Senator of Colombia and Member of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia, having served in both chambers as President.-Career:...

for having ties with paramilitary groups. According to Colombian newspaper El Tiempo the Supreme court started the investigation after statements made by former congresswoman Rocío Arias in Cambio. In an interview with the Colombian magazine the former congreswoman, also under arrest of being involved in parapolitics, said that Gutierrez was supported by paramilitary leader John Fredy ‘The Bird’ Gallo. Gallo is held responsible for the murder of dozens in the Department of Cundimarca.

Mario Uribe Escobar

Mario Uribe Escobar, cousin of President Álvaro Uribe and former President of Congress sought political asylum at the Costa Rica

Costa Rica

Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

n embassy on April 22, 2008, after a prosecution arrest warrant was made public. According to prosecutors, witnesses have claimed that the former President of Congress met with paramilitary

Paramilitary

A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....

leaders in 1998 to jump start a strategy to seize farms in several departments. Former paramilitary boss Salvatore Mancuso

Salvatore Mancuso

had previously told the Prosecution he had met with Uribe Escobar in 2002, to ensure the Senator would win the elections in the Córdoba Department

Córdoba Department

Córdoba is a Department of the Republic of Colombia located to the north of this country in the Colombian Caribbean Region. Córdoba faces to the north with the Caribbean sea, to the northeast with the Sucre Department, east with the Bolívar Department and south with the Antioquia Department...

. Mancuso later retracted this statement. According to his lawyer, Uribe went to the Costa Rican embassy in Bogotá

Bogotá

Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...

on the grounds that he didn't have adequate procedural guarantees in Colombia
Mario Uribe was released from prison 20 August 2008. A prosecutor found there was no reason to hold him.

Political reform to tackle parapolitics

On April 9, 2008 the Álvaro Uribe

Álvaro Uribe

Alvaro Uribe Vélez was the 58th President of Colombia, from 2002 to 2010. In August 2010 he was appointed Vice-chairman of the UN panel investigating the Gaza flotilla raid....

Administration supported a political reform law, presented by some congressmen, to tackle the growing scandal of parapolitics in the Colombian Senate. By then 51 Congressmen were suspected of parapolitics. 29 of them were in jail awaiting trial. The government proposed the "Empty Chair" solution; Senators that are suspended or jailed for alleged ties with illegal armed groups may not be replaced by their political parties. This way the parties would be forced to keep their fraction "clean". A majority of the Colombian House of Representatives agreed with the law. The biggest opposition party Polo Democrático Alternativo, also one of the few parties not affected by the scandal, voted against the law, saying the current legislative chambers have no credibility to solve the problem. On April 16, 2008, one day after the vote in the House, Senator Carlos Garcia

Carlos Garcia

Carlos Garcia may refer to:*Carlos García , Venezuelan former major league baseball player*Carlos García-Bedoya , Peruvian diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1979*Carlos P...

, President of the Partido de la U

Social National Unity Party

The Social Party of National Unity , or Party of the U is a liberal conservative political party in Colombia. It attempts to unite various parliamentary supporters of Álvaro Uribe, the Uribistas, in one political party. Currently it is Colombia's largest political party.Security is the top...

, began to be officially investigated under suspicion of paramilitary ties. Garcia resigned from his Partido de la U position, but said he would not quit Congress.

Background

Political involvement

First arrests

Álvaro García

Jairo Merlano

Erick Morris

María Consuelo Araújo

Álvaro Araújo

Hernando Molina Araújo

DAS scandal

Judicial branch scandal

President Álvaro Uribe

Salvador Arana

Nancy Patricia Gutiérrez

Mario Uribe Escobar

Political reform to tackle parapolitics

See also