Americas press review
In the spotlight: towards a trial of former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe
Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, in March 2022, during a press conference.
REUTERS - LUISA GONZALEZ
Text by: Christophe Paget Follow
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Bogotá judge Carmen Ortiz on Wednesday, April 27 rejected the prosecutor's request to dismiss the case.
Alvaro Uribe, recalls
El País
, is accused of witness tampering in the case which pits him against Senator Ivan Cepeda, whom the ex-president was suing for claiming that he was an ally of the paramilitaries.
And contrary to what Avaro Uribe hoped, the procedure which targets him will therefore continue.
However, the newspaper recalls, he “
had given up his seat as a senator so that the investigation would not be carried out by the Supreme Court, but by the prosecutor's office.
You should have seen
the hope that the latter would be less harsh with the ex-president, because the prosecutor is close to the current uribiste president Ivan Duque
”.
And that is what happened, recalls
El País
: the evidence collected by the Supreme Court was rejected.
But the victims opposed it, and this is how the file landed in the hands of judge Carmen Ortiz, who therefore considers "
that there is sufficient evidence for Alvaro Uribe to be judged
", notes
El Spectador
.
However, believes a criminal lawyer contacted by
Semana
, "
this is not a defeat for Uribe, as many would like to see
it": the judge simply considered that "
the game should continue to be played: the presumption of innocence remains intact
”.
El Tiempo
notes that the prosecutor's office has indicated that it will not appeal the decision.
“
Colombia's most important legal case continues, for the moment, on its way.
The presidential election of May, without Uribe in the spotlight, too
”, concludes
El País
– the ex-president not wanting, in view of his legal troubles, to handicap the campaign of his candidate Federico Gutierrez, by supporting him openly.
In Venezuela, Gladys Gutierrez at the head of the Supreme Court
Gladys Gutierrez had already headed the Supreme Court, recalls
El Luchador
, between 2013 and 2017, when she was subject to American sanctions, recalls
Alberto News
.
It is the return of a civil servant “
close to Maduro
” at the head of a court “
in the service of the Chavista regime of Nicolas Maduro
”, estimates
La Patilla
.
The newspaper specifies that
the number of its members has been reduced from 32 to 20
, of which twelve remain in place.
"
It's not a good signal for the country
,"
writes Efecto Cocuyo
, the Venezuelan Electoral Observatory, "
because the outgoing TSJ (Tribunal Supremo de Justicia
)
had not yet gained the confidence of most of the citizens.
".
For the Canadian Parliament, the war being waged by Russia is a genocide
The Canadian Parliament has just unanimously adopted a motion affirming that the war waged by Russia in Ukraine amounts to genocide.
Ten days ago, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted a similar resolution.
At the beginning of the month, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau already believed that “
we can talk more and more about genocide in Ukraine
”, recalls
La Presse
.
The text adopted on Wednesday affirms that “
there is clear and abundant evidence of systematic and massive war crimes and crimes against humanity
”.
Text presented by Heather McPherson, of the New Democratic Party, a support of the Liberal party in power, some members of which nevertheless tried to convince her to soften her motion.
“
I said no
,” says Helen McPherson in The
Globe and Mail
.
The text needed to be adopted unanimously, which was the case.
Russia's ambassador to Canada saw the motion, reports The
Globe and Mail
, as "
a politically empty Russophobic gesture
."
Helen McPherson hopes that the text will motivate Ottawa to do more: more sanctions against the regime of Vladimir Putin, and more humanitarian aid to Ukrainians, lists
La Presse
.
Widespread “racial discrimination” in Minneapolis police
In the United States, a report on racial discrimination within the police of the city of Minneapolis has just been made public.
The investigation by human rights services in Minnesota was launched two years ago, after the death of African American George Floyd under the knee of a white police officer.
What the report describes is "
disgusting, sometimes horrific
," in the words of the Minneapolis mayor, echoed by The
Wall Street Journal
.
City police "
use more force, stop, search and ticket black people more often than white people in comparable circumstances
."
They “
frequently use racist, misogynistic and disrespectful language
.”
And, the
New York Times
points out , they “
used fake social media accounts to surveil African Americans and African American organizations.
Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero said Minnesota "
hopes to use this investigation to find long-term solutions, for total change
" in the way law enforcement works in Minneapolis.
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Americas press review
Colombia
Alvaro Uribe
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