President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela has accused former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe of being behind the recent assassination of a Venezuelan lawmaker, according to local media.
Maduro claimed to have already identified the assailants behind the killing of socialist deputy Robert Serra, saying they have fled to Colombia and the United States, according to Spanish news agency EFE.
Serra, 27, and his partner Maria Herrera were stabbed to death in their residence in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas last Wednesday.
The information in Maduro’s possession allegedly points to the “intellectual authors” of the assassination being the “criminal band” directed by Uribe, as well as actors in Miami protected by the U.S. government, according to Caracol Radio.
Through his Twitter account, Uribe responded to the accusations, using the opportunity to criticize current President Santos: “Santos backs Maduro for the [UN] Security Council and the dictator uses it to accuse me of the murder a deputy.”
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The accusations from Caracas come just days after Uribe was called to trial for his public remarks during a debate on his alleged ties to paramilitaries where he claimed that a public TV channel “serves terrorism.”
MORE: Uribe called to trial for accusing TV network of being terrorism facilitators
It was also recently announced that Colombia’s highest court would be investigating Uribe’s role in this year’s wiretapping scandal – different from the 2008 DAS wiretapping scandal from his administration (2002-2010) – after a hacker accused of spying on the peace talks in Havana claimed Uribe was involved.
MORE: Colombia’s highest court to investigate Uribe over peace talks wiretapping
In yet another unrelated case, it was reported Friday that Uribe was going to be investigated by the Prosecutor General’s Office over his alleged involvement in the psychological torture of journalist Claudia Julieta Duque.
Sources
- El expresidente Uribe rechaza las acusaciones de Maduro por la muerte del diputado Serra (EFE)
- Maduro acusa a Uribe de ser autor de la muerte del diputado venezolano (Caracol Radio)
