'An injustice clearly driven by political pressure': Colombia's Attorney General's Office opens a new legal front against Álvaro Uribe 48 hours before the presidential election

With just 48 hours to go before the presidential election, the Prosecutor’s Office of Colombia announced the opening of a new investigation against former President Álvaro Uribe Vélez.  Uribe described this move as “an injustice driven by clear political pressure” at a time when polls show leftist candidate Iván Cepeda trailing.

The Attorney General’s Office summoned the former president for questioning to clarify his alleged responsibility in the formation of paramilitary groups in the department of Antioquia and his possible involvement in two of the most notorious massacres of the Colombian armed conflict that took place in the 1990s.

According to the investigative body, Uribe will be held accountable for events that occurred while he served as governor of Antioquia between 1995 and 1997. The Prosecutor’s Office has charged him with alleged crimes of aggravated criminal conspiracy and the murder of a protected person, on the grounds that he facilitated and promoted the activities of paramilitary groups in the region.

What else does the investigation cover?

The investigation also covers the massacres perpetrated in the townships of La Granja in 1996 and El Aro in 1997, both located in Antioquia. In those attacks, paramilitary groups murdered several civilians and committed other crimes that were subsequently documented by national and international human rights organizations.

According to the Attorney General’s Office, the armed group under investigation allegedly used the Guacharacas estate—owned by the Uribe Vélez family at the time—as its base of operations. In addition, the former president will have to answer for the 1998 murder of human rights defender Jesús María Valle Jaramillo, who had denounced the authorities’ inadequate response to paramilitary actions in Antioquia.

Just hours before the elections, an “injustice clearly driven by political pressure”

Uribe confirmed on social media platform X that he had been notified of the court’s decision. “To face this ordeal just hours before the elections,” wrote the former president, referring to the presidential runoff to be held this Sunday in Colombia.

The former president, who led a military offensive against the guerrillas during his two presidential terms between 2002 and 2010, has for years faced accusations of alleged ties to paramilitary groups, allegations he has always denied.

"The prosecutor, a former member of the JEP—where Iván Cepeda’s wife worked until recently—who has summoned me for questioning, has not received a single statement from me; she is immediately taking me to trial to convict me," he added in another post on X.

The politician made it clear that these actions constitute “an injustice driven by clear political pressure,” less than 48 hours before the second round of elections in the South American country.

The new investigation also comes at a particularly challenging legal juncture for the conservative leader. In August 2025, he was sentenced to twelve years of house arrest for witness tampering, although later a court overturned the sentence and the case was referred to the Supreme Court of Justice for review.