News Americas, MIAMI, FL, Fri. Aug. 29, 2014: The son of Suriname’s President, Dino Bouterse, on Friday copped a guilty plea ahead of a set October trial in a U.S. court for drug, terrorism and weapons trafficking charges
Bouterse, the son of President Desi Bouterse, pleaded guilty to charges of attempting to aid the Lebanese paramilitary group, Hezbollah, and conspiring to import cocaine into the United States. He admitted in a New York federal court that he had tried to provide material support to Hezbollah, which the United States has deemed a terrorist group
Bouterse was arrested in Panama on August 29 and arrived in the U.S. to face charges on August 30, 2013.
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court, in 2013, Bouterse used his position to assist individuals he believed were members of Hezbollah.
In exchange for a multi-million-dollar pay-off, Bouterse agreed to allow large numbers of purported Hezbollah operatives to use Suriname as a permanent base for, among other things, attacks on American targets.
In furtherance of his efforts to assist Hezbollah, Bouterse allegedly supplied a false Surinamese passport for the purpose of making clandestine travel easier, including travel to the United States; began determining which heavy weapons he might provide to Hezbollah; and indicated how Hezbollah operatives, supplied with a Surinamese cover story, might enter the United States.
In June 2013, Bouterse and another accused met in Suriname with DEA confidential sources (the “CSes”), in a local government office. During the meeting, Bouterse showed the CSes a rocket launcher and a kilogram of cocaine.
pproximately one month later, Bouterse and the second defendant worked to provide transportation and security for cocaine being sent through Suriname to the United States.
As a test run, Bouterse and the second defendant sent ten kilograms of cocaine on a commercial flight departing from Suriname. Bouterse personally verified the arrangements for the 10-kilogram cocaine shipment in a text message. The cocaine was intercepted by law enforcement officials after it departed Suriname.
In July 2013, Bouterse met with one of the CSes to discuss opening Suriname to the CSes’ purported Hezbollah associates.
Later that month, Bouterse met in Europe with one of the CSes and with two other men who purported to be associated with Hezbollah. During this meeting, Bouterse discussed initially hosting 30 to 60 Hezbollah members in Suriname for training and operations. He also indicated that he wanted a Hezbollah cell in Suriname to, in part, act as a kind of personal armed force.
He said it was his understanding that the purported Hezbollah operatives would operate in South America against American targets, and he agreed to supply Surinamese passports to the operatives—and to assist with their applications for visas to travel from South America into the United States. In addition, in response to a request for surface-to-air missiles and rocket-propelled grenades, Bouterse stated that he would need “two months” and that he would provide a list of what he could supply.
Finally, at the July 2013 meeting in Europe, Bouterse agreed to create a false Surinamese passport for one of the purported Hezbollah operatives, so that Bouterse and the Hezbollah operative could travel to Suriname to inspect the facilities that Bouterse had agreed to prepare for the Hezbollah contingent.
At a subsequent meeting in August 2013, Bouterse delivered a Surinamese passport with false identifying information. As had been discussed at the July 2013 meeting in Europe, one of the purported Hezbollah operatives was to use the fraudulent passport to travel to Suriname. Bouterse indicated that everything was ready in Suriname for the arrival of the purported Hezbollah members, and that some “toys,” or weapons, would be available for inspection.
This is the second charge against Bouterese who was previously charged with conspiring to import cocaine into the United States with using, carrying, and brandishing a rocket launcher during, and in relation to, the cocaine importation conspiracy.
