Santiago Uribe Vélez sentenced to 28 years in Colombian prison

The Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia has finalized a 28-year prison sentence for Santiago Uribe Vélez, the brother of former President Álvaro Uribe. The decision follows the denial of a tutela action by the court's Civil, Agrarian, and Rural Cassation Chamber, exhausting his final legal recourses.

Uribe Vélez was convicted of aggravated homicide, conspiracy to commit a crime, and crimes against humanity. The charges stem from his links to the paramilitary group ‘Los 12 Apóstoles’, which was active in northern Antioquia during the 1990s and is believed to be responsible for hundreds of deaths.

The legal proceedings have seen significant shifts: Uribe Vélez was initially acquitted in November 2024, but that verdict was overturned by the Superior Tribunal of Antioquia in November 2025. Subsequent appeals to the Penal Cassation Chamber failed to overturn the conviction, and the recent denial of his constitutional challenge leaves the sentence in firm effect. In addition to prison time, the sentence includes a fine of 6,500 minimum monthly legal wages and a 20-year disqualification from holding public office.