Santiago Uribe, brother of former President Alvaro Uribe, confirmed that his incarcerated cousin Mario was involved in a conspiracy to smear a Supreme Court judge who was investigating Uribe, reported Noticias Uno.
According to Santiago, Mario had given a letter to Sergio Gonzalez, the lawyer of the ex-AUC paramilitary leader, alias “Tasmania.” The letter asked Gonzalez to tell his client, Tasmania, to accuse the judge of bribing him to falsely accuse Alvaro Uribe of having ties to paramilitary groups. Although Mario allegedly told Santiago about his intent to bribe the lawyer, Santiago denied any involvement.
Tasmania recently admitted to have been persuaded by Santiago and Mario to accuse the Supreme Court judge of bribery.
Santiago is being investigated for allegedly leading a paramilitary death squad in the 1990s. Mario is in prison for his ties to former paramilitary leaders and drug traffickers.