Mario de Jesús Uribe Escobar (born 1949) is a Colombian politician and lawyer. Uribe-Escobar graduated in

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

from the Autonomous University of Medellín and the

University of Antioquia The University of Antioquia ( es, Universidad de Antioquia), also called UdeA, is a public, departmental, coeducational, research university located primarily in the city of Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia, with regional campuses in Amalfi, Andes ...

. El Pais: Mario Uribe no pudo eludir a la Fiscalía
/ref>

Political career

He began his political career as councilman of his hometown; the municipality of Andes, Department of Antioquia. Between 1982 and 1986 served as deputy of the

Department Assembly of Antioquia Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

and then to the

Chamber of Representatives of Colombia The Chamber of Representatives (Spanish: ''Cámara de Representantes'') is the lower house of the Congress of Colombia. It has 172 members elected to four-year terms. Electoral system According to the Colombian Constitution, the Chamber of Rep ...

in representation of Antioquia, serving from 1986 to 1994, in which he was Vice President of the Chamber between 1990 and 1991 and worked as member and president of the Investigations and Accusations Commission. In 1994 Uribe-Escobar was elected to the

Senate of Colombia The Senate of the Republic of Colombia ( es, Senado de la República de Colombia) is the upper house of the Congress of Colombia, with the lower house being the House of Representatives. The Senate has 108 members elected for concurrent (non-r ...

and served until October 2007. Uribe-Escobar quit the Senate after receiving a notification from the

Attorney General of Colombia The Office of the Attorney General of Colombia ( es, Fiscalía General de la Nación; literally "General Prosecutorial Office of the Nation") is the Colombian institution part of the Colombian judicial branch of Government with administrative a ...

calling him to testify on regards to the

Parapolitics scandal The Colombian parapolitics scandal or "parapolítica" in Spanish (a combination of the words '' paramilitar'' and '' política'') refers to the 2006–present Colombian congressional scandal in which several congressmen and other politicians hav ...

. He was President of the

from July 20, 2000 to July 20, 2001. In 2003 Uribe-Escobar participated in the foundation of the

Democratic Colombia Party The Democratic Colombia Party (''Partido Colombia Demócrata'') was a political party in Colombia founded in 2003. After 2006, the small party was decimated by the parapolitics scandal, in which four of its five congressmen were forced to resign a ...

which was the base of the former ''Sector Democrático'' movement. Uribe-Escobar was considered one of the most important allies of

President of Colombia The president of Colombia ( es, Presidente de Colombia), officially known as the president of the Republic of Colombia ( es, Presidente de la República de Colombia) or president of the nation ( es, Presidente de la Nacion) is the head of stat ...

and cousin;

Álvaro Uribe Álvaro Uribe Vélez (born 4 July 1952) is a Colombian politician who served as the 31st President of Colombia from 7 August 2002 to 7 August 2010. Uribe started his political career in his home department of Antioquia. He held offices in t ...

Parapolitics scandal

Alleged meeting with paramilitaries

In relation to the

Colombian parapolitics scandal The Colombian parapolitics scandal or "parapolítica" in Spanish (a combination of the words '' paramilitar'' and '' política'') refers to the 2006–present Colombian congressional scandal in which several congressmen and other politicians hav ...

, Uribe-Escobar was first mentioned by Jairo Castillo Peralta aka "Pitirri" who was a former member of the paramilitary group

United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia The United Self-Defences of Colombia (''Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia'', or AUC, in Spanish) was a Colombian far-right paramilitary and drug trafficking group which was an active belligerent in the Colombian armed conflict during the period ...

(AUC) and was a personal bodyguard of former politician Álvaro García Romero also implicated in the scandal for mingling with paramilitaries. From his exile in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, Castillo-Peralta said that Uribe-Escobar had met with AUC top commanders in northern Colombia to negotiate cheaper land in the region of Caucasia and in the

Department of Sucre Sucre () is a department in the Caribbean Region of Colombia. The department ranks 27th by area, and it has a population of 904,863, ranking 20th of all the 32 departments of Colombia. Sucre is bordered by the Caribbean on the northwest; by Bo ...

. Uribe-Escobar responded to this saying that he did not have any land in Caucasia or Sahagún but he did have land of his property between the towns of

Sahagún Sahagún () is a town and municipality of Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León and the province of León. It is the main populated place in the Leonese part of the Tierra de Campos natural region. Sahagún contains some ...

and

Ciénaga de Oro Ciénaga de Oro () meaning "Golden Marsh", is a town and municipality located in the Córdoba Department Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Cór ...

in the

Department of Córdoba Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

which were acquired in 1991.

Testimony of Salvatore Mancuso

Imprisoned AUC paramilitary leader

Salvatore Mancuso Salvatore Mancuso Gómez, also known as "el Mono Mancuso", "Santander Lozada" or "Triple Cero" (i.e. "Triple Zero", or, "000"), among other names (born August 17, 1964 in Montería, Córdoba) is a Colombian paramilitary leader, once second in ...

confessed during a court session that he had met with Uribe-Escobar in two occasions with the purpose of forming a political coalition with then

Senator of Colombia The Senate of the Republic of Colombia ( es, Senado de la República de Colombia) is the upper house of the Congress of Colombia, with the lower house being the House of Representatives. The Senate has 108 members elected for concurrent (non-r ...

, Eleonora Pineda for the

2002 Colombian legislative election Parliamentary elections were held in Colombia on 10 March 2002 to elect the Senate and Chamber of Representatives.Dieter Nohlen (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II'', p306 The Liberal Party remained the largest party b ...

. Mancuso said that he had asked Pineda to introduce him. Pineda was later accepted into the Democratic Colombia Party, but before the

2006 Colombian presidential election 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

Pineda was expelled.

Arrest warrant

A Delegated Attorney to the

Supreme Court of Colombia The Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia ( es, Corte Suprema de Justicia de Colombia) in Bogotá is the highest judicial body in civil and penal matters and issues of criminal and civil procedure in Colombia. The Supreme Court of Colombia is th ...

found enough merits and evidence to issue an arrest warrant against Uribe-Escobar without a right to pay a fine. Uribe-Escobar was syndicated of "concert to commit crimes" consisting on agreeing to promote illegal armed groups. He had been accused by the Supreme Court but since Uribe-Escobar had renounced from his post as senator, ordinary justice could put him on trial. Caracol Radio: Tras orden de captura, Mario Uribe busca asilo político
/ref> After receiving the notification Uribe-Escobar announced to the Colombian authorities that he was going to surrender voluntarily and comply with the mandate of the Attorney General of Colombia.

End of penalty

Uribe was set free of prison on November 15, 2012. He spent 54 months in jail.

Asylum petition

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uribe Escobar, Mario 1949 births Living people People from Antioquia Department Members of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia Members of the Senate of Colombia Presidents of the Senate of Colombia Colombian parapolitics scandal Colombian prisoners and detainees 20th-century Colombian lawyers Colombian Liberal Party politicians Democratic Colombia Party politicians University of Antioquia people Colombian politicians convicted of crimes