Former Colombian senator Vicente Blel was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to seven years in prison by the Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Blel was arrested in April 2008 for his ties with infamous paramilitary leader Rodrigo Tovar Pupo, also known as “Jorge 40”, reports Colombian newpaper El Espectador.
Blel gained his Congressional seat by replacing former Congressman Jorge Castro Pacheco, who was also implicated in a para-politics scandal. Pacheco was the replacement for Senator Dieb Maloof, who again lost his seat due to paramilitary connections.
The ex-senator also faces accusations of ties with narco-traffickers, but these have not yet been proven.
The Supreme Court handed Blel the sentence after finding him “guilty of conspiracy to commit an aggravated crime.”
