Former Colombian president Álvaro Uribe is the target of a new investigation into paramilitaries and massacres.

The Colombian public prosecutor's office has opened a new investigation targeting former president Álvaro Uribe for alleged involvement in the creation of a paramilitary group, two massacres, and the assassination of a human rights defender. This information was confirmed by a source close to the case and by a message posted by the former head of state on social media.

Aged 73, Álvaro Uribe led Colombia for two consecutive terms between 2002 and 2010. A major figure of the Colombian right, he remains one of the most influential political figures in the country, but also one of the most controversial due to the numerous accusations made against him over the years.

This new procedure comes as Uribe is already embroiled in a long legal saga. Last year, he was convicted of fraud and corruption in a case involving alleged witness tampering. This decision, which could have resulted in a twelve-year sentence of house arrest, was overturned on appeal but is currently being reviewed by the country's highest court.

According to the charges examined in this previous case, the former president allegedly asked a lawyer to bribe imprisoned paramilitaries to discredit testimonies linking him to these armed groups. Uribe has always denied these accusations, claiming to be the victim of political persecution.

The current investigation focuses on paramilitary groups that played a major role in the Colombian armed conflict. Funded primarily by ranchers, landowners, and merchants to fight leftist guerrillas, these organizations are held responsible for a considerable portion of the violence that plagued the country. A truth commission estimates that they were involved in nearly half of the approximately 450,000 deaths recorded during the conflict between 1985 and 2018.

The Uribe family's legal troubles also worsened last year when the former president's brother was sentenced to 25 years in prison for crimes linked to paramilitaries. This decision intensified scrutiny of alleged ties between some members of Uribe's inner circle and these armed groups.

According to a source at the prosecutor's office, Álvaro Uribe has been summoned for questioning as part of this new investigation. No date has yet been set. This procedure comes in a sensitive political context, just days before the second round of the Colombian presidential election, in which leftist Senator Iván Cepeda, implicated in several legal cases linked to Uribe, is a candidate.