Caribbean & Central America - February 2024

*** BOUTERSE DISAPPEARS IN SURINAME. On 20 December Suriname’s former president Desi Bouterse (2010-2020), who led a military dictatorship from 1980-1987, reached the end of his drawn-out fight to avoid responsibility for the 1982 killing of 15 political opponents. His 20-year prison term, imposed in 2019, was upheld and he was ordered to report to prison by 12 January, but failed to do so. The murders took place during a period of repression after Bouterse led a coup in 1980. He later served as elected president for the Nationale Democratische Partij (NDP) from 2010-2020. Despite Bouterse’s defiance of the court, the NDP has said that he remains the party’s chairman. His lawyer says that he is seeking a presidential pardon, but President Chandrikapersad Santokhi has said: “There is a verdict, and that verdict must be carried out.”

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