Venezuelan journalist José Vicente Rangel reveals that a certain Colombian ex-president’s troubles, which hung over his time in office like a cloud of smog over a mountain city, have not dissipated with his departure from official power. In fact, they’ve only intensified since. And now, it appears they are coming to a head:
“As we have already predicted, the situation of Colombian ex-president Álvaro Uribe is growing more complicated by the day,” stated José Vicente Rangel on Sunday, warning that the ex-president was in grave political and legal difficulties.
During the “Confidentials” section of his program, José Vicente Today, on the private channel Televen, the journalist said that the weight Uribe still maintains in the politics of his land, and the powers that support him, have not served to prevent his case from coming before the Colombian senate, under investigation by the Attorney General’s Office, nor to prevent several court cases against him from making their way through the legal system.
“What is the main point of the question? Firstly, the historic relationship between Uribe and narcotrafficking, and, later, his participation in the formation of paramilitary groups, starting with the “Convivir”, a mafia organization he inaugurated,” said Rangel.
In this sense, Rangel said that the case of the Colombian ex-president has just been brought before the Colombian senate by senator Iván Cepeda.
Rangel pointed out that Cepeda presented “a very broad and rigorous report which begins with the investigation of the time in which Uribe, being a functionary of the government of Antioquia [province], expedited flight permits for planes belonging to the famous drug lord, Pablo Escobar Gavíria.”
Rangel added that the document reflects “the close ties of the ex-president with paramilitarism, which he used to sow terror and interfere in the electoral process.”
“This part of the dossier contains testimonies by important narcotrafficking chiefs, and of paramilitaries directly involved [with Uribe]. What will happen to Uribe? He attributes what’s going on to the manoeuvres of President Santos with those who are trying to eliminate him as a political rival. Uribe is stuck in a tunnel which apparently has no way out,” Rangel reflected.
Translation mine. Linkage added.
So, it looks like “El Doptor Varito” is finally seeing his chickens coming home to roost. After more than 20 years, it’s about time. And with any luck, maybe his political goose will be cooked as well.
