On Friday, Judge Sandra Liliana Heredia handed down a 1114-page sentence against the 73-year-old conservative leader, making Uribe the first former president in Colombia’s history to be convicted of a crime. In addition to the 12-year term of house arrest, Uribe was fined US$578,000 and barred from holding public office for more than eight years. Supporters credit a former two-term president (2002–2010), Uribe, with pacifying large parts of the country through a hardline military campaign against leftist guerrillas. Judge Heredia ordered Uribe to report to authorities in Rionegro, Antioquia, where he resides, and start immediately serving a sentence that, in effect, is as along as the legal case to date. Internal party votes are set for August 26, and Uribe’s conviction – if not overturned – could change both the tone and turnout of those primaries.