Security units in Suriname have arrested and detained several alleged assassins, a top government official has disclosed.
According to Caribbean Net News, Justice Minister Chandrikapersad Santokhi informed reporters on Wednesday that police had two weeks earlier busted a criminal gang linked to murder accused and former army commander Desi Bouterse. Amongst those detained were several foreign nationals.
The news service said that according to the minister, the sting operation came after security agencies received intelligence about assassination plots against several government and judicial authorities.
Santokhi further disclosed that the attacks were aimed at derailing the ‘December murders’ trial, which was scheduled to start yesterday. Bouterse is the main suspect in this trial for the killing of 15 of his political opponents in December 1982.
According to Caribbean Net News, Suriname authorities have intercepted a target list including the names of President Ronald Venetiaan, Santokhi, and several other government and judicial officials. It said Santokhi was reluctant to reveal details regarding the arrests since investigations are continuing.
The news service added that President Ronald Venetiaan had since held a meeting with top security officials, including prosecutor-general Subhas Punwasi, police chief Delano Braam, army commander colonel Ernst Mercuur and colonel Johan Ceder, head of the Central Intelligence and Security Agency (CIVD) to discuss strategies on how to address the security threats.
Meanwhile, it also reported that at a party rally on Monday night, Bouterse had accused Santokhi of planning to kill him, because, according to him, he has information about past drug trafficking activities of the minister. Addressing thousands of supporters, Bouterse insisted that the government and parliament were not functioning properly and cast doubt on the objectivity of the judiciary.
Caribbean Net News said Santokhi rejected the allegations, maintaining that Bouterse was attempting to create an unstable situation in order to justify a planned take over of the government.
Santokhi further disclosed that the authorities had received intelligence that several individuals in the remote interior were armed by Bouterse and his supporters, while a top official from his party, NDP, had travelled to a “neighbouring country” to recruit individuals to commit violent attacks in Suriname, including arson and murders.
The news service said that according to the justice minister, the destabilisation and assassination plots had more to them than just derailing the upcoming trial. Interests of organized crime were also at stake, he said. According to the report, top crime leaders had met to discuss actions aimed at bringing a halt to the assaults on their criminal enterprises by the authorities, since in the past three years the police had dismantled nine of the ten major criminal organisations in Suriname, including major drug trafficking rings with links to the Colombian rebel organization FARC.
Late Wednesday afternoon, the report said, the National Democratic Party (NDP) issued a statement calling on Venetiaan to order Santokhi to refrain from making wild accusations.
According to the NDP, Santokhi was trying to distract the people’s attention from the serious socio-economic problems in the country, which the government seems unable to resolve.