Three months after he and his most trusted bodyguard vanished from sight, authorities in Suriname have placed former military strongman and ex President Desi Bouterse on the hunt and arrest list of the global police system, Interpol and have asked the public’s help for information that could lead to his arrest.
The former president was in mid-January scheduled to report to Suriname’s main prison to begin a 20-year sentence for the December 1982 murders of 15 government opponents for allegedly plotting with western nations to overturn the February 1980 military coup that had toppled the elected government.
Bouterse, 78, bodyguard Iwan Dijksteel and three other former soldiers had finally run out of legal options after an appeals court late last year reaffirmed their 2019, 20-year sentence. The verdict was widely expected.
The other three now elderly convicts have reported to prison and have begun their sentences. The state prosecutor’s office had set mid-January as the date for them to surrender after their verdict in December but it became clear to authorities that Bouterse had had no such intention as he disappeared from public view. His wife made the announcement as stunned supporters from the National Democratic Party (NDP) looked on. Party officials have given strong hints about knowledge of where he is weeks ago, with acting leader Ramon Abrahams telling reporters that Bouterse is okay where he is. That was back in January. Nothing has been heard of or from him ever since, with speculation that he and Dijksteel are at an interior hideout and also that he is cooling out in Venezuela.
Formally announcing the request to the France-based Interpol late Tuesday, the prosecutor’s office stated that they two are now officially wanted by international police via a Red Notice that empowers law enforcement officers worldwide to arrest a fugitive on behalf of the requesting government.
“The public prosecution service requests the cooperation of the public and the international community to provide information on the current whereabouts of the named convicts. Individuals with relevant information can contact the military police criminal investigation department,” the announcement stated. Organizations linked to surviving relatives and friends have said they are not surprised that Bouterse has disappeared.
Bouterse was twice elected as a civilian president, losing to a Hindustani-led coalition back in mid-2020. It is unclear whether his current troubles with the state will redound to a rise in popularity for him and the NDP as the governing VHP coalition is expected to lose seats and votes in general elections scheduled for late May of next year. Suriname is beset by allegations of runaway corruption, nepotism involving senior government officials, their family and close associates, a sliding dollar, which has declined from less than US-8-1 in 2020 to nearly $40-1 today, high inflation and tough austerity measures imposed by the IMF to correct economic anomalies of the past.
The NDP has made no secret that if it does well enough in 2025 that it will form a coalition that will pardon Bouterse as local courts have ruled that a previous 2012 parliamentary amnesty was null and void, allowing his trial to proceed.
