Suriname: Fmr president Bouterse summoned to serve his prison sentence CMC 10 hrs ago
Former President Desi Bouterse, whose conviction for involvement in the killing of 15 people more than four decades ago was upheld in December, has been ordered to jail to serve his sentence.
This was announced on Wednesday by the public prosecutor.
The former president and army leader had until Monday to request a pardon but did not do so. He is to appear at a jail in the country alongside four co-defendants on Friday.
In December, a three-judge panel affirmed the convictions of Bouterse and four others in the execution of 15 government critics, including lawyers, journalists, union leaders, soldiers and university professors in December 1982.
Bouterse was sentenced to 20 years in prison and Iwan Dijksteel, Benny Brondenstein, and Ernst Gefferie were each sentenced to 15 years.
The five convicts were summoned by bailiffs’ writ on Wednesday to report to the location where they will be locked up. Dendoe, Dijksteel, Brondenstein and Gefferie were ordered to report to the Central Penitentiary Institution in Santo Boma and the Penitentiary Institution Duisburglaan.
Bouterse's drug lines The origins of the Suri cartel Episode: 30 minutes Reading time: 6 minutes
Surinamese President Desi Bouterse was convicted in the Netherlands in 1999 for cocaine smuggling. But Bouterse was already associated with drug smuggling 15 years earlier. In 1986, he was the main target of an undercover operation in Miami. The American justice department then arrested Etienne Boerenveen, Bouterse's right-hand man. Boerenveen tried to set up a drug line from Paramaribo. Bouterse did not come to Miami himself at the last minute. "The main target was Bouterse," says a former undercover agent.
December 2, 2012
Miami Vice in real life Bent over with his hands cuffed behind his back and his head turned away from the camera, Etienne Boerenveen is led away after his arrest on March 24, 1986. Suriname's second man, Desi Bouterse's right-hand man, has been arrested during an undercover operation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on a yacht in Miami. The conversation between Boerenveen, Surinamese businessmen Cilvion and Ricardo Heijmans and DEA agent Kenneth Peterson was recorded with a hidden camera. Peterson still remembers the action well. “It was Miami Vice. Same place, same time, but real.” The video shows that Boerenveen wants to set up a drug line from Suriname to the US. He tells Peterson on the deck and out of camera range that he has all the options that Suriname can offer at his disposal: “It was the only time someone offered me his country,” says Peterson. ?
Hidden camera during undercover action in 1986
Bouterse decides The soldier Etienne Boerenveen, only 28 years old at the time, did not act on his own. No one within the leadership of Suriname acts without permission from the boss, Desi Bouterse. Major Koen Koenders, who at the time worked for the Military Intelligence Service (MID) in the Netherlands, agrees that, “nothing happens without his approval.” On the deck of the DEA yacht, Boerenveen answers Peterson's question about what he will do with the money: “Part of it goes to me,” as he puts his left hand in his pocket, “and the other part goes to the government,” whereby the right hand disappears into the other pocket.” Bouterse decides.
Koen 1984 in uniform Major Koen Koenders, at the time working for the Military Intelligence Service (MID)
Suri cartel The drug trade is an important source of income for Bouterse and his associates. After the December murders of 1982, the flow of money that the Netherlands promised after independence in 1975 was abruptly stopped. The rumors about Suriname as a transit country for Colombian cocaine to Europe and the United States became increasingly persistent among intelligence services after 1982. Military personnel and civilians who flee the country out of fear of Bouterse tell the Dutch immigration services about the activities of the Surinamese army leadership. All these stories are forwarded to the Central Criminal Investigation Information Service (CRI). Information also comes in at that time via an informant. According to Gerrit de Gooyer, head of the Narcotics Center at the CRI from 1985 to 1987, Dick Stotijn (died in 2005) is an informant the likes of which they have never seen since. In 1994, Hans Buddingh and Marcel Haenen, journalists from the NRC, dedicated a book to him. De Danser describes in detail how Stotijn, confined to a wheelchair due to leprosy, receives information about drug deals and transports from all over the world in his hometown Daarlerveen and then shares it with the intelligence services. ?
Gerrit de Gooyer, 1985
End of exercise The information about the drug trafficking of Pablo Escobar's Medellín cartel is such that the CRI starts an action to arrest a number of Colombians. Stotijn and his runner Anne Post play an important role in this. Stotijn even goes to Aruba to negotiate with the initiators there. But the intelligence also shows that high-ranking Surinamese people are involved in the impending 'deal'; father and son Heijmans and Etienne Boerenveen will participate in the discussions. The head of the CRI's Narcotics Control Center, John Oosterbroek, is feeling short of breath. It is not clear whether the CRI has the authority for such an action, there is insufficient manpower and, above all; politically it is too sensitive. The action is canceled at the last minute. Post quickly recalls Stotijn to protect his identity. Looking back, Anne Post can still get angry. “If we had continued with this action, we would have ultimately ended up with Bouterse. Then Suriname would have looked very different now.”
Etienne Boerenveen
The target was Bouterse If the Netherlands cannot and does not want to take action, then the Americans should. Anne Post knows that DEA agents work at the embassy in The Hague. Stotijn calls himself and tells officer Dale Laverty what he knows. The latter is amazed by the amount of detailed information and, after initial skepticism, is happy to work with him. Stotijn is now also an informant for the DEA. A new campaign is being set up. This time the Surinamese army leadership is the target.
Contact is made again with Cilvion Heijmans via Stotijn. In February 1986, DEA agent Peterson called Heijmans again from the United States. When asked, Heijmans indicates that he cannot supply cocaine himself, but that Suriname can serve as a transit country. He can do this because he has “connections with the big boss of Suriname”. It is agreed that they will meet, this time in Miami. From that moment on, the DEA is under the assumption that Heijmans will be accompanied by the “big boss of Suriname”. Peterson expects Bouterse himself to come to Miami, but just before the meeting Bouterse cancels. “We were told that it would not be the number one, but his right hand.” Dale Laverty is also certain: “The goal was Bouterse”. But it was Etienne Boerenveen, colonel in the Surinamese army. After an initial meeting in a hotel, during which the listening equipment fails the DEA, the meeting takes place on the hunt and the recordings are successful. After Boerenveen promises Peterson that the cocaine can be transported undisturbed via Suriname, the three Surinamese are arrested.
Dick Stotijn, alias the dancer
Dive headlong into hiding The trial follows in September 1986. The name of informant Dick Stotijn is leaked through the suspects' lawyers. Miami prosecutor Bill Norris calls the Netherlands to warn. Stotijn has to go into hiding in a hurry. Boerenveen is sentenced to 12 years in prison for complicity in setting up a drug line. Father and son Heijmans receive a much lighter sentence of one year. Five years later, in 1991, Boerenveen is also outside the gate again. The fact that he ultimately only served such a short time raises questions. It is suggested that Boerenveen talked to intelligence services and received a reduced sentence in return. Kenneth Peterson does not know of a deal between Boerenveen and the DEA. As a DEA agent on duty during the undercover operation, he visits Boerenveen in his cell after his arrest. But Boerenveen does not want to talk, according to Peterson. “He was either too proud or too afraid.”
Composition and Direction: Paul Ruigrok Text and Research: Lizzy van Winsen
Former Surinamese president Desi Bouterse, along with four others, was due to report to a Surinamese prison at 1 p.m. Netherlands time on Friday to start a 20-year sentence for his role in the 1982 December Murders. However, his wife Ingrid Waldring-Bouterse informed journalists on Friday that he would not report to prison. This was reported by the NOS correspondent in Suriname.
In response to questions from journalists, his wife then declared that Bouterse was not at home and that she was unaware of his whereabouts. "I don't know that, I don't know that," she said, according to the Suriname newspaper De Ware Tijd. She added that she had no contact with him. What actions the Surinamese Public Prosecution Service (OM) will take next remains unclear.
There are concerns within the country that his conviction and sentencing might lead to unrest.
Religious groups urge calm amid alleged plot to overthrow Suriname government February 9, 2024 Suriname President Chandrikapersad Santokhi.
By Joanne Clark Religious organizations in Suriname are urging citizens to remain calm amidst reports of a potential government overthrow.
Suspected motive linked to judicial ruling This is believed to be tied to efforts to disrupt the implementation of a recent court ruling sentencing former President Desi Bouterse and others to lengthy prison terms.
According to reports, Inter-Religious Council in Suriname and the Christian Churches Committee say they have reliable information that certain groups want to unleash unrest in Suriname.
President Santokhi has reportedly told a Suriname-based online publication, that the information provided to him is being taken seriously.
Suriname Police: Bouterse's body brought home by unknown persons 57 min agoin Abroad
PARAMARIBO - Unknown persons have transported the body of Desi Bouterse to his home in Leonsberg, from an unknown location. The police heard this from a resident during a visit to the home of the Surinamese ex-president. A criminal investigation into the death of ex-president Desi Bouterse is ongoing in Suriname, in which several persons are being questioned, the police reported on Wednesday evening local time..
The police received the message shortly after 5:00 on Wednesday morning that Bouterse had died and that his remains had been brought to his home. The body did not show any signs of a crime, according to the doctor who had been called in by the police to examine it. After consultation with the Public Prosecution Service, Bouterse's body was confiscated to determine the probable cause of death.
Desi Bouterse (1945 - 2024) died without ever serving a sentence: 'They will never catch this smart Indian'
The Surinamese police urgently calls on society to await the results of the investigation and to refrain from speculation.
Surinamese minister: 'Destabilizing attempts made from the Netherlands' author avatar Marcel Vink
Modified: 34 min ago1 hour agoin Domestic
PARAMARIBO - The Surinamese Minister of Foreign Affairs stated fiercely at the press conference on Saturday regarding the funeral of former President Desi Bouterse that 'destabilizing attempts' are being made from the Netherlands to sow unrest in society.
Minister Albert Ramdin was very critical of it. "This is a serious matter," he said at the meeting on Henck Arronstraat in Paramaribo. "The attempts from abroad mainly come from the Netherlands. It is almost criminal."
See also:
No state funeral, but flags at half-mast after death of Desi Bouterse: 'Keep calm'
He did not want to give examples, but did mention social media. "We are a peaceful society that should not be disrupted by actions or activities that disrupt public order or cause unrest. We are angry for a while, but then we stand up straight again and continue." He also did not want to indicate from which corner it comes. "But I can say: from different corners."
Death of Desi Bouterse There is much unrest in Suriname after the death of former president and army leader Desi Bouterse. This is between supporters of the ex-president, who are mainly his political party NDP supporters, and opponents who react strongly and mainly point to his involvement in the December murders in 1982, in which fifteen opponents and critics were tortured and murdered.
See also:
Tension surrounding Desi Bouterse's funeral in Suriname: fear of last 'middle finger' from former president
"It is very safe to do this from a location where you cannot be found," he continued about the aforementioned attempts from our country to cause chaos. To conclude: "It is cowardly."
Bouterse died on Tuesday, his death was confirmed in the early morning by a doctor. He was 79 years old.
US and Colombian investigators connected Suriname’s Vice President Ronnie Brunswijk and ex-President Desi Bouterse to recent involvement in drug trafficking, according to hacked emails that suggest ongoing high-level political links to organized crime in South America’s smallest country.
Desi Bouterse, the former president of Suriname, died from complications of liver failure caused by severe liver fibrosis, which stemmed from chronic alcohol use, according to the autopsy report released by the Surinamese Public Prosecution Service on Saturday.
Ronnie Brunswijk is now one of the most powerful men in Suriname.
Ronnie Brunswijk ( born March 7, 1961 in Moengotapoe , [ 2 ] ), nicknamed Bigi Bravo , [ 3 ] is a Surinamese - Aukaan politician , entrepreneur, former rebel leader and convicted bank robber and drug dealer. He has been Vice President of Suriname since 2020 .
Brunswijk is of Aukan origin and comes from the village of Moiwana . He joined the Surinamese National Army at the age of 18. Brunswijk was sent to Cuba for commando training. After his training he was appointed as a bodyguard to Desi Bouterse , the commander of the Surinamese army and leader of the military authority. In 1984 Brunswijk asked for a raise, but was subsequently dismissed. In the second half of the eighties Brunswijk was the leader of the Jungle Commando (JC) in Suriname . He fought against the regime of Desi Bouterse during the Civil War . The commando raids led to reprisals against Brunswijk's family and fellow villagers.
Everyone in Suriname knows the names of Ronnie Brunswijk, Desi Bouterse, Joël Martinus and Piet Wortel when it comes to cocaine trafficking. They have been identified as suspects in the past or even now by the judicial authorities and even convicted for their role. But the name Brian Blue sounds strange to most people. His whereabouts are unknown and there are not even any photos of him available. While this Surinamese drug dealer has played an important role in the cocaine circuit for decades and probably knows the aforementioned foursome as well. Blue has played a key role in the trade for decades. He was even convicted in Brazil and his name has appeared in several international investigations. His involvement in the drug trade dates back to the nineties. The Brazilian authorities have had him in their sights for years and Interpol has also set its sights on him. Brazilian investigators linked Blue to drug trafficking in 2017 and 2018. This time, police suspected he was a key contact in Suriname for some of Brazil’s biggest cocaine traffickers, including Luiz Carlos da Rocha, aka “Cabeça Branca.” Despite strong suspicions of Blue’s involvement, Brazilian investigators did not file charges against him. “We couldn’t gather enough evidence, although we are very convinced he was involved,” an investigator with Brazil’s Federal Police who worked on the case told InSight Crime .
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