Detained Colombia ex-president has coronavirus, party says

Uribe was "in good health" despite his diagnosis, the Democratic Center party told AFP.

The court, which held a hearing Tuesday into witness tampering accusations, ordered the 68-year-old to be put under house arrest after deeming there were "possible risks" he would attempt to obstruct justice.

Local media had speculated about his health after spotting a medical team entering his home in the northern Cordoba department.

Uribe, currently a senator, faces bribery and procedural fraud charges and could serve up to eight years in prison if convicted of allegations that he used his position as a lawmaker to tamper with a witness.

He has always insisted on his innocence and enjoys strong popular support due to his hardline stance on fighting the country's leftist guerrillas, especially the once-powerful Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

News of his house arrest brought rival demonstrators out into the streets both in support and against Uribe.

The right-wing politician was questioned by judges in October 2019 -- the first time a former president had appeared before Colombia's highest court.

In 2012, Uribe filed a complaint against leftist senator Ivan Cepeda, who Uribe says hatched a plot to falsely link him to paramilitary groups.

But in 2018, the court instead opened a witness tampering investigation against Uribe, who was president from 2002-2010.

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