Bogota, Colombia — Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe was convicted of witness tampering and bribery Monday in a historic trial that gripped the South American nation and threatened to tarnish the conservative strongman’s legacy.

The ruling followed a nearly six-month trial in which prosecutors presented evidence that Uribe attempted to influence witnesses who accused the law-and-order leader of having links to a paramilitary group founded by ranchers in the 1990s.

Uribe, 73, was not in court in the capital, Bogota, for the verdict as the judge has so far not ordered his arrest. He followed the ruling from his home outside Medellin but did not immediately speak about it.

Uribe faces up to 12 years in prison but a sentencing will be delivered in a separate hearing. He is expected

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