Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Vélez was sentenced Friday to 12 years of house arrest for bribery in criminal proceedings and procedural fraud.

B OGOTÁ, Colombia—Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, an icon of the Latin American right whose government worked with the U.S. to battle Marxist rebels, was sentenced to 12 years of house arrest in a witness-tampering case related to the country’s long-running internal conflict.

Colombian former President Álvaro Uribe has been sentenced to 12 years of house arrest for witness tampering and a fraud charge. The 73-year-old is the first former president in the country's history to be convicted of a crime. He has also been barred from public office and fined $578,000 (£435,000).