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A bitter public dispute has erupted between former President Álvaro Uribe and Carlos Suárez, the strategist for president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella, just days after De la Espriella's narrow victory over Iván Cepeda.
The conflict began when Suárez told Semana that Uribe and the Centro Democrático "lost overwhelmingly" Source: El Colombiano. Uribe responded on X, calling Suárez a "bandido" and "solapado" Source: Infobae. Suárez fired back: "I wasn't scared by dinosaurs, much less by their fossils" Source: La Silla Vacía. Uribe further accused Suárez of facilitating meetings between ex-paramilitaries and senators Piedad Córdoba and Iván Cepeda to gather testimony against Uribe Source: Infobae, La Silla Vacía.
The Centro Democrático closed ranks with Uribe. Senator-elect Rafael Nieto called Suárez's attacks "gross" and "worrying", noting concern over De la Espriella's silence Source: El Colombiano. Governor of Antioquia Andrés Julián Rendón reaffirmed his support for Uribe Source: El Colombiano. The party announced it would seek a congressional coalition with De la Espriella, but warned it would not tolerate mistreatment of Uribe Source: La Silla Vacía.
This dispute weakens the unity of the right-wing bloc that contributed to De la Espriella's campaign, which relied heavily on Uribe's endorsement. De la Espriella has not commented.
“Dijo que Uribe, Paloma Valencia y el Centro Democrático "perdieron estrepitosamente" porque representaban "el pasado" y la "politiquería de siempre".”
“"Es mejor ser un viejo como yo, si se quiere un fósil, que lucho por la democracia y por la Patria, que un bandido solapado que pretende limpiar su imagen, como Carlos Suárez"”
“"No me asustaron los dinosaurios, menos lo harán sus fósiles"”
“"Carlos Suárez demostró sus dotes de estratega cuando llevó a Piedad Córdoba (senadora ya fallecida) y a (Iván) Cepeda a hablar con exparamilitares extraditados a preguntar por mí"”