Despite the acquittal ruling, the judicial process against the former president continues to generate new actions and reactions.
News Colombia.
The judicial chapter of former President Álvaro Uribe Vélez has not yet closed. Although the Superior Court of Bogotá declared him innocent of the crimes of bribery in criminal proceedings and procedural fraud, the victims’ defense announced that they will present an appeal for cassation before the Supreme Court of Justice.
The Court’s decision, which acquitted the former president of all charges, was received with divided opinions in the political and judicial spheres. One of the first to speak out was Senator Iván Cepeda, who reaffirmed his determination to continue the process.
“From now on, I inform that we will file, before the Supreme Court of Justice, an appeal for cassation,” he wrote on his X account.
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I announce that as soon as I finish the presentation of the decision adopted by the Criminal Chamber of the Superior Court of Bogotá, and the dissenting vote of Judge Oviedo, I will give statements to the media together with the victims’ bench in this case.…
— Iván Cepeda Castro (@IvanCepedaCast) October 21, 2025
The second instance ruling annuls the previous conviction and maintains that there is insufficient evidence to prove that Uribe had participated in the alleged acts of witness tampering. According to the magistrates, the assessment of the evidence in the previous decision was “inadmissible.”
During the reading of the ruling, the Court also drew attention to Judge Sandra Heredia, who had kept the process open in the first instance. The magistrates indicated that the continuity of the case was not supported by solid evidence and that the testimonies lacked veracity and legal support.
The witnesses and the doubts
The Court also acquitted the former president in the episodes related to witnesses Carlos Enrique Vélez and Eurídice Cortés Velasco, who claimed to have been pressured to change their version about Uribe’s alleged links with paramilitary groups.
However, the judges concluded that no direct or indirect intervention by the former president in those events was proven.
The Court also ordered an investigation against Carlos Enrique Vélez, “given his recognized mendacity,” due to inconsistencies detected in his statements.
After learning of the decision, the lawyer representing the victims – among them Senator Cepeda – stated that the defense will go to the last judicial stages. “We are going to a marriage. This battle is not over,” he said.
With this announcement, the process will continue before the Supreme Court of Justice, which must issue the final decision on a case that dates back to 2012, when Uribe denounced Cepeda for alleged witness tampering. That accusation took an unexpected turn, since the same Court ended up investigating the former president for these accusations.
At the time, Judge Sandra Heredia had issued a sentence of 12 years of house arrest against Uribe. However, the former president has remained free while the appeal is being resolved, since the Supreme Court indicated that the sentence could not be executed until it became final.
The new judicial scenario opens a new chapter in a case that has marked Colombian politics for more than a decade. Although Uribe has been acquitted by the Superior Court, the last word will be the Supreme Court of Justice.
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