By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent reporting from Amsterdam
PARAMARIBO/AMSTERDAM (Worthy News) – Suriname’s ex-president Desi Bouterse, who was on the run after being convicted for political murders, has died, several Surinamese sources say. He was 79.
Bouterse fled the capital Paramaribo on December 20 last year after being convicted for his leading role in the “December Murders” of December 8, 1982, in which 15 opponents were killed.
The murders in Suriname, a former Dutch colony, shocked the South American country as well as the Netherlands, home to hundreds of thousands of Surinamese.
In January this year, he was supposed to report to prison to begin serving his twenty-year sentence, but by then, he had disappeared. Last Sunday, police raided his Paramaribo apartment but said “he was not found” there.
A pastor from Suriname who knows the situation well told Worthy News at the time he had doubts Bouterse would be detained. “Suriname is a small community where people know each other. I have doubts that he will serve time in jail.”
The pastor’s predictions turned out to be correct: After nearly a year in hiding, Bouterse’s human remains were transported to Paramaribo, local media reported.
Crowds gathered at his residence in Paramaribo-North, including reporters and members of his National Democratic Party (NDP).
ADVENTUROUS LIFE
His death came after an adventurous life that included his actions in 1980 when Bouterse led a military coup in Suriname.
The military subsequently formed the National Military Council (NMR), seen by human rights watchers as a horrific regime.
The Bouterse era was marked by the infamous December Murders when, on the night of December 7 to 8, 1982, fifteen opponents of the military regime were tortured and executed at Fort Zeelandia, Bouterse’s headquarters.
The victims included lawyers, journalists, as well as soldiers who were linked to a previous coup attempt against him.
Yer Boutersews was only sentenced for his role in the December Murders in 2019 when he received a twenty-year prison term.
He appealed the verdict in 2023, but it was upheld. After early 2024, Bouterse failed to report to prison, and his whereabouts remained a mystery.
There had been suggestions that Bouters hid in Suriname’s extensive rain forests or fled to Cuba or Venezuela.
MORE UPHEAVAL?
Romeo Hoost, chairman of the Committee for the Remembrance of Suriname’s Victims, called Bouterse’s death “truly unfortunate.” In published remarks, Hoost said: “He needed to stay alive to serve his twenty-year sentence.”
Bouterse’s passing was due to add to upheaval in the country of about 640,000 people, which has seen recent protests against soaring inflation and austerity measures.
However, the nation’s government has agreements with energy giants to launch its first primary offshore oil production in 2028.
Energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie has estimated Suriname’s discovered resources to be more than 2.4 billion barrels of oil and liquids and more than 12.5 trillion cubic feet of gas.
Shell, TotalEnergies, QatarEnergy, and Petronas signed production-sharing contracts with Suruname’s state-run Staatsolie for at least three offshore blocks.
The government hopes this will help to revive Suriname as a prosperous nation in the post-Bouterse era.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Israel expanded its military campaign against Hezbollah on Monday, striking more than 70 targets across Lebanon as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to increase pressure on the Iranian-backed terror group following a sharp rise in drone and rocket attacks on northern Israel.
A federal appeals court is weighing whether Kansas City can use its public accommodation ordinance to require Christian counselors to counsel gay married couples despite the counselors’ biblical convictions on marriage and sexuality.
Tens of thousands of evangelical Christians gathered in the Netherlands for one of Europe’s largest multi-day Christian events, with organizers and participants expressing hopes for spiritual revival in the nation and across Europe.
President Donald Trump pushed back Monday against sharp criticism from Republicans and former administration officials over a potential U.S.-Iran agreement, insisting that any final accord must prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon or it will not be signed.
President Donald Trump said Monday that countries involved in negotiations over Iran should be required to join the Abraham Accords, signaling that the White House is seeking to turn a possible Iran agreement into a wider regional realignment that includes normalization with Israel.
Tensions remained high in Serbia’s capital Belgrade on Sunday after at least tens of thousands of people demanded elections and rallied against what they view as the increasingly authoritarian rule of President Aleksandar Vučić, with violence erupting after the protest and more than 20 people arrested.
Investigations were ongoing Sunday into the killing of three senior Kuki-Thadou Christian church leaders by unidentified gunmen in India’s northeastern Manipur State, Christian investigators told Worthy News.