The Colombian Court nullified a 2024 ruling that had acquitted Santiago Uribe.

Santiago Uribe Velez, brother of Colombian former President Alvaro Uribe Velez, was sentenced on Tuesday to 28 years in prison for his involvement with the paramilitary group “The 12 Apostles” (Los 12 Apóstoles, in Spanish) by the Superior Court of Antioquia in Colombia.

RELATED: Colombia Denies Backing Plan to Oust Venezuelan President Maduro

The Court found Santiago Uribe criminally responsible for aggravated homicide, aggravated conspiracy, and crimes against humanity, nullifying a November 13, 2024, ruling that had acquitted him after a 27-year judicial process.

In addition to the prison term, judges imposed a fine of 6,500 legal monthly minimum wages—over 10.5 billion Colombian pesos (approximately 2.7 million dollars). The issuance of an arrest warrant is pending the Supreme Court’s review of a possible appeal.

Former President Alvaro Uribe Velez, as was expected, reacted to the ruling on social media, saying: “I feel deep pain over the conviction of my brother. May God help us.”

The 12 Apostles

The paramilitary group “Los 12 Apóstoles,” which presented itself as a “social cleansing” organization, operated in Yarumal, Antioquia, in the early 1990s, carrying out targeted killings of civilians, including the homeless, drug users, and anyone perceived to support guerrilla groups.

Investigations revealed that the group coordinated its operations and trained members at La Carolina estate, owned by Santiago Uribe Velez.

The conviction focuses on his role in forming the paramilitary structure and his direct responsibility for the murder of Camilo Barrientos, one of the group’s victims.

Regarding the group’s criminal activities, Colombian President Gustavo Petro commented on his X account: “In the Titiribi area, hundreds of people lost their lives. Students from the University of Antioquia, who were simply seeking shelter from the rain at a gas station in Armenia Mantequilla, disappeared”.

“Authorities point to the former director of Gaula Antioquia—later appointed head of security for President Uribe Velez, General Santoyo, now imprisoned in the United States—as being responsible for the disappearance of the sister and other members of Asfades, relatives of the missing students. Reports indicate that the victims’ bodies were disposed of in a lagoon teeming with crocodiles.”

“I first denounced these events in 2007, and they are now being corroborated.”

IN THIS ARTICLE