Former Colombian senator denied asylum, arrested
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's second cousin, ex-Senator Mario Uribe Escobar, was arrested Tuesday after Costa Rica denied his request for asylum, a witness said. Uribe was taken into custody as he departed the Costa Rican Embassy in the capital. Uribe's lawyer, Jose del Carmen Ortega, told Radio Caracol that the former lawmaker sought asylum after Colombia's chief prosecutor issued a warrant for his arrest for alleged ties to right-wing paramilitary groups. "We're in the Costa Rican Embassy in Bogota," Ortega told Radio Caracol. He said Uribe chose Costa Rica because "it's a country that's always been generous" and has accepted political exiles in the past. Costa Rica has "tremendous hospitality," Ortega said. Colombian Attorney General Mario Iguaran Arana issued a warrant for the politician's arrest, saying he was investigating a meeting between Uribe and an ex-paramilitary leader, Salvatore Mancuso, before the congressional elections March 10, 2002. The office said it was also investigating a meeting with Jairo Castillo Peralta, alias Pitirri, in November 1998. Uribe was the president of Colombia's Senate but resigned last year after prosecutors opened an investigation into his alleged ties to right-wing paramilitary groups. More than 30 Colombian congressmen have been sought by prosecutors for possible ties to the paramilitary groups, and another 60 are being investigated. "It is a scandal that not only involves the president's cousin (but) more than 30 congressmen who backed the president with their votes. ... It is a scandal that involves the directors of the allied political parties of the government; it is a scandal that without a doubt affects the legitimacy of the all of the Colombian state," said Sen. Gustavo Petro of the opposition Polo Democratico Party. Alvaro Uribe did not issue a statement in response to the warrant for his cousin's arrest. |
