Mauricio Pimiento Barrera (born March 17, 1961) is a Colombian politician, former

Senator of Colombia The Senate of the Republic of Colombia () is the upper house of the Congress of Colombia, with the lower house being the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia, Chamber of Representatives. The Senate has 108 members elected for concurrent (non ...

. Pimiento was arrested on February 16, 2007, after being involved in the Para-political scandal. On May 16, 2008, Colombian justice condemned Pimiento to 7 years in prison for conspiring with a terrorist group and electoral fraud.

Early life

Pimiento studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

and graduated from the Free University of Colombia and has a master in Law from the

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Career

Pimiento has been Secretary General and Sub-Director of the National Institute of Social Security and General Director of the Co-Financing Fund for the Rural Sector. With the political support of the Araujo family in

Valledupar Valledupar () is a city and municipality in northeastern Colombia. It is the capital of Cesar Department. Its name, ''Valle de Upar'' (Valley of Upar), was established in honor of the Amerindian cacique who ruled the valley; ''Cacique Upar''. The ...

he became Governor of the Cesar Department between 1995 and 1997. He was later elected as

, participating in the first senate committee. Pimiento was arrested February 16, 2007 after being involved in the Para-political scandal.

References

External links

Caracol.com.co - Capturados otros cinco congresistas por el escándalo de la "para política"elcolombiano.com Rostros - Mauricio Pimiento
1961 births 20th-century Colombian lawyers Free University of Colombia alumni Colombian prisoners and detainees Governors of Cesar Department Living people Members of the Senate of Colombia Social Party of National Unity politicians Colombian parapolitics scandal Colombian politicians convicted of crimes {{Colombia-bio-stub