Desi Bouterse, the president of Suriname, said on Tuesday the arrest of his son on U.S. drug trafficking and weapons charges last week was an attempt to embarrass his government.
According to Al Jazeera, Bouterse suggested the “goal” of the arrest was to disrupt a summit of the Union of South American Nations, or UNASUR, which began in Suriname on Friday.
“Luckily it did not achieve its goal,” Bouterse said of his son’s arrest.
Al Jazeera also reported Bouterse said other leaders at the summit offered sympathy and some had even offered to help his son with lawyers.
“You have to put aside the issues that affect you personally, emotionally, and say, ‘What is the most important thing?’ The most important thing was the UNASUR meeting,” Bouterse added.
Bouterse’s son, Dino, was previously convicted of drug trafficking in 2005 in Suriname and served some time in prison. Dino Bouterse is being held by U.S. authorities pending a hearing Monday. He is facing a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Both Desi and Dino Bouterse were also convicted of drug trafficking in absentia in a Dutch court in 1999. Desi Bouterse is also facing a trial in Suriname for allegedly killing 15 political dissidents during the military government he led in that country between 1980 and 1987. Desi Bouterse regained power in 2010.
“Dino has 13 children,” Desi Bouterse said of his son. “Of course, I’m still a father, but I don’t interfere in his private life. He is a big, grown-up man.”
