The former president of Suriname Desi Bouterse, a fugitive from justice for the murder of 15 opponents in 1982, died at the age of 79, the government announced on Wednesday.
"We are awaiting more detailed and definitive information from official channels, and we would like to offer our deepest condolences to the wife, children, and other surviving relatives for this loss," said current president Chan Santokhi in a statement. Bouterse had been a fugitive from justice for a year after his sentence was upheld.
In a social media message, Brunswijk expressed his "sincere condolences" for Bouterse's death: "His life had a lasting impact on our country, and his efforts will never be forgotten," Brunswijk emphasized in his message.
"At this time of mourning, I wish everyone strength and courage. May his legacy continue to be an inspiration to many, and may his soul rest in peace," he added.
The news of Bouterse's death comes a couple of days after apparently Surinamese authorities carried out an operation to arrest him and face accusations of planning the execution of 15 opponents in 1982.
Among the victims were journalists, military officers, union leaders, lawyers, businessmen, and university professors.
Therefore, Surinamese authorities launched operation 'Kerstbrood' as part of the 'Christmas Bread' operation, a widespread raid to locate Bouterse and simultaneously search the home of Iwan Dijksteel, one of his bodyguards, also a fugitive and convicted in the same case.
The lawyer representing the families of the 15 people murdered on December 8, 1982 requested in a letter to the government to offer a reward to facilitate Bouterse's arrest.
Interpol, on the other hand, issued a red notice against Bouterse in mid-March of this year for law enforcement worldwide to locate and arrest him, three months after he fled following a December sentence to 20 years in prison for his involvement in the murder of 15 opponents in 1982.
Furthermore, the Court of Justice issued the sentence in December of last year, after the appeal of the sentence handed down in August 2021, when Suriname's Justice confirmed the 2019 Military Court's sentence of 20 years in prison.
Bouterse founded on July 4, 1987 the National Democratic Party (NDP), which lost the 2020 elections, only obtaining 16 out of the 51 seats available.
After leading a military government in the 1980s, Bouterse won the elections in 2010 and was reelected for a second term as president in 2015.
Additionally, in 1999, he was convicted in absentia for drug trafficking by a court in the Netherlands, Suriname's former colonial power. The international arrest warrant prevented him from leaving his country.