Video shows Colombian prez meeting with paramilitary leader

A video dated from “October 2001” shows Colombian president Alvaro Uribe shaking hands and meeting with a right-wing paramilitary leader nicknamed “Commandant Esteban.” Despite Uribe’s repeated denials of meeting with paramilitaries, the video shows him briefly with “Esteban” in a video was taken in the midst of presidential campaigning in Colombia.

Part of the video can be seen below as was reported by Colombia’s Noticiero Uno (via YouTube). According to the report, the video was sent to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice by a U.S. attorney, and will be shown later this week to senior Democratic and Republican legislators. Aside from showing Uribe meeting with “Esteban” the video also shows a 2000 “graduation” where local politicians pledge their alliance to Colombia’s largest paramilitary group.

Update: A press release from the Colombian government this afternoon denied that Uribe "asked or received (campaign) funds from drug traffickers or paramilitaries." (Spanish-language link via El Diario/La Prensa).

Sources- CBS News, YouTube