Judge Sandra Heredia wants the sentence be applied immediately in what has become the most significant court case in recent Colombian history. But his defense said they will appeal

Mr. Uribe, a towering figure in Colombian politics, was accused of trying to bribe a former paramilitary to retract testimony damaging to him.

A Colombian judge on Monday convicted former President Alvaro Uribe of abuse of process and bribery of a public official in a long-running witness tampering case, making him the country’s first ex-president to ever be found guilty at trial.