Ex-Colombian senator sues state for $3.35 million

An ex-Colombian senator, formerly accused of working with paramilitaries, sued the state for $3.35 million, Caracol Radio reported Friday.

Carlos Garcia Orjuela was released from jail in September 2010 after the Supreme Court absolved him of “parapolitics” charges.

Garcia, who stood accused of having had ties to the Tolima Bloc of the officially demobilized paramilitary coalition AUC, was one of the most prominent allies of former President Alvaro Uribe to be tried for parapolitics.

Garcia argued that the allegations that he had links with paramilitaries, and his subsequent arrest and trial, caused serious damage to him and his family.

In November 2006, Garcia was elected as chairman of Juan Manuel SantosU Party.

Orjuela, who has French citizenship, filed the lawsuit from Paris.

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