Former Suriname president Desi Bouterse has died in Paramaribo at the age of 79, the Surinamese foreign office told broadcaster NOS on Wednesday.

According to local media, he died after a short illness at a secret address in the capital. Bouterse had been in hiding since 2023 when he was sentenced to 20 years in jail for his role in the killing of 15 political opponents in 1982.

Bouterse always denied any involvement in the deaths, which came to be known as the December Murders. He was sentenced to 20 years in jail at two previous trials in 2019 and 2021.

Suriname became a Dutch colony in the 17th century and gained full independence in 1975.

Bouterse grabbed power in Suriname in the so-called ‘sergeants’ coup’ of 1980.

Two years later, after several attempted counter coups, 15 of his political opponents, including journalists, lawyers and academics, were rounded up and murdered in the infamous December killings. This effectively established a dictatorship under Bouterse with a puppet government.

In 1999, the Netherlands tried Bouterse in absentia on drug smuggling charges. He was convicted and sentenced to a prison term but remained in Suriname.

Bouterse went on to serve as elected president of Suriname from 2010 to 2020 but retired from active politics that year.