Suriname elects first female president amid economic uncertainty
Jennifer Geerlings-Simons to lead the impoverished Latin American country through crisis before oil wealth arrives.

Jennifer Geerlings-Simons to lead the impoverished Latin American country through crisis before oil wealth arrives.




![TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne, left, and Suriname President Chan Santokhi embrace after France's TotalEnergies and US APA Corp announced they would invest in Suriname's most promising oil and gas project, Block 58 [Ranu Abhelakh/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/2024-10-01T160747Z_1028088505_RC2LBAA471Q0_RTRMADP_3_SURINAME-TOTALENERGIES-1732794875.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)



![While the Leticia Pact created a protocol on forest fires management in the Amazon, there are few other signs of tangible progress to protect the world's largest rainforest, despite the fanfare and renewed commitments, environmentalists say [File: Bruno Kelly/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/2021-09-06T143012Z_95756119_RC2QJP9RNMIS_RTRMADP_3_BRAZIL-ENVIRONMENT.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
The destruction is fuelled by logging, farming, ranching, mining and infrastructure projects on forest land.
Pompeo becomes the first US secretary of state to visit the two South American states where oil was recently discovered.
A big win for the opposition would likely end the longtime rule of President Bouterse, who was convicted of murder.
The charismatic president stands a fair chance of holding onto power as the country elects a new National Assembly.
As elections loom and protests rattle the region, here are the stories to look out for this year.
Desi Bouterse found guilty of killing 15 political opponents in 1982, two years after he seized power in a coup.
As controversial new leaders find their feet and crises continue, here are the stories to look out for this year.
Foreign Minister Stef Blok calls Suriname ‘a failed state’ and says ethnic divisions are genetically determined.
Dino Bouterse tells US court he offered US agents posing as Hezbollah group a base in his country in elaborate sting.
Prosecutors charged Dino Bouterse with inviting people he thought were from Hezbollah to set up base in his country.