Potential criminal investigations against former President Alvaro Uribe must be carried out in Colombia, the country’s prosecutor general said Thursday in response to Uribe’s request to be investigated in the U.S.
Prosecutor General Eduardo Montealegre said that the petition to have the former president investigated for ties to paramilitaries can’t be carried out by the U.S. He argued that any possible crimes that he committed in Colombia, must be judged in that same country.
Uribe had sent a letter to the U.S. ambassador requesting the investigation for any potential ties so as to, “save the good name and honor of Mr. Alvaro Uribe,” said the former Colombian president’s attorney.
The request had been made following the allegations against Uribe’s former security chief Mauricio Santoyo, who has been accused of working “hand in hand” with AUC paramilitary members.
Montealegre said that Colombia’s ex-president can’t be investigated in the U.S. based on acts committed by Santoyo. Any possibility of crimes that Uribe participated in must be tried in the country where they took place.