A Colombian ex-congressman from northern Antioquia was sentenced on Wednesday to eight years in prison for “parapolitics.”
The Supreme Court sentenced Estanislao Ortiz, ex-representative for the Uraba region of northern Antioquia, for conspiracy related to illegal armed groups. The ex-congressman and former mayor of Turbo – a small city in Uraba – was found guilty of conspiring with the “Elmer Cardeñas” bloc of the defunct paramilitary organization AUC to help him win election to Congress in 2002.
Ortiz was one of the signatories of a pact called “Por una Uraba grande, unida y en paz,” for a large Uraba, united and at peace. Through this pact the paramilitaries sought to maintain political and economic control in the department.
Politicians, traders, businesses and entrepreneurs aligned with the illegal armed group to prevent guerrilla organizations, active in the region, affecting their interests.
Sources
- Por ‘parapolitica’ condenan por ocho años de prision el ex congresista Estanislao Ortiz (El Espectador)
- Condenado excongresista Estanislao Ortiz por para politica (Vanguardia)
