You need to have the political will to do it. Even in countries “the West” would scoff at like Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro was imprisoned for an attempted coup. And today, March 11, 2025, the Philippines arrested former president Rodrigo Duterte…
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague had issued a warrant for Duterte’s arrest. So as soon as he landed in Manila, he was detained and taken.
Not wasting any time on procedures and appeals, current Filipino president Bongbong Marcos had the former leader — accused of ordering over 20,000 extrajudicial killings — placed on an airplane bound for The Hague. The whole thing took just four hours.
So even countries the rich “first world” often derides and mocks as “banana republics” can act and act swiftly. All you need is a leader with vision, and some balls. Something bad has happened, people died, order was disrupted and human rights violated. So a leader is called to answer for his crimes. No ifs, no buts, no endless talks… he’s taken and spirited away on an airplane to stand trial. This is the sort of news that brightens my day in dark times such as the ones we live in.
It is hard to call to account a former leader of a country. He will have all the right friends in all the right places. The only way to do it is to do it quickly. Act fast, and act decisively without hesitation. You need a judicial system that has some real balls, and treat the president with the same courtesy (or lack thereof!) you would an ordinary criminal lowlife.
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