LatinNews Daily - 20 August 2025

*The superior district court of Bogotá has ordered the release of Colombia’s former president Álvaro Uribe (2002-2010), who on 1 August was sentenced to 12 years of house arrest for witness tampering and bribery. The court ruled that Uribe must be released pending the outcome of his appeal. The verdict was welcomed by Uribe’s right-wing party, Centro Democrático (CD), which claims that he is the victim of a politicised attack by the judiciary. Uribe’s release could further roil the political scene ahead of the 2026 general elections. Idolised on the right for his tough counterinsurgency campaign against the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc) guerrilla group and despised on the left for the systematic human rights violations that characterised the military crackdown, Uribe remains the de-facto leader of the conservative movement despite being unable to seek re-election. On 17 August he called for the formation of a “great democratic coalition” to take on the ruling left-wing Pacto Histórico next year, when legislative elections will be held in March ahead of the first round of the presidential election in May.

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