Ex-Colombian president denies role in 1990s massacres

Alvaro Uribe arrived in Bogota to answer allegations linking him to some of Colombia’s worst paramilitary violence of the 1990s, insisting that he was not responsible for the crimes.

“I thought I had served the nation, but today I come to say that I have not been a murderer,” Uribe said before a hearing on his alleged role in massacres in the Antioquian villages of El Aro and La Granja. He is also due to testify about the 1998 murder of community leader Jesus Maria Valle, who was killed in Medellin after denouncing the massacres.

Uribe, who served as governor of Antioquia before becoming president, said the investigation was politically motivated. Prosecutors accuse him of “facilitating and promoting” paramilitary groups, and allege that his family ranch served as a base for their operations. Victims and witnesses from El Aro said they saw a helicopter belonging to the regional governor flying over the site for days while the paramilitaries operated there.

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I thought I had served the nation, but today I come to say that I have not been a murderer.

The 1997 El Aro massacre and the 1996 La Granja massacre left dozens dead. Homes were burned and cattle were stolen. Drug trafficking, paramilitary activity and armed groups fueled severe violence in Antioquia during the decade.

Uribe’s legal team has sought to delay or suspend the investigation. Last year, he received a 12-year house-arrest sentence for bribing imprisoned paramilitaries not to implicate him, but that sentence was later overturned. His brother, Santiago Uribe, was sentenced last year to 28 years in prison for leading a paramilitary squad known as “The 12 Apostles.”

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facilitating and promoting