Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe was questioned by lawmakers over his alleged ties to drug traffickers and para-military groups. CCTV America Correspondent, Michelle Begue, has more on the heated debate and the accusations made against him.

On Colombia’s Senate floor, Congressional representatives were locked into an eight hour heated debate over allegations of former President Alvaro Uribe’s ties to drug traffickers and paramilitary groups. Senator Ivan Cepeda of the progressive Democratic Pole party opened the floor debate with an 80 minute historic presentation of the former president’s ties to right-wing militia groups.The now Senator Alvaro Uribe Velez was given 80 minutes to respond to Ivan Cepeda’s accusations. He used most of the time to recount his family’s tragic past and his career in public service that included two Presidential terms from 2002 to 2010.

On the floor, Senator Uribe accused President Juan Manuel Santos of pushing the debate and left the chamber in protest surrounded by members of his Center Democratic Party. For the next five hours various Senators continued to intervene – at times angrily interrupting those that had the floor. It is not clear what will become of the accusations, but they are now on public record, and the spectacle of accusations across Congress showed just how much hate and divide is at the surface of Colombian politics.