Suriname

GEORGETOWN, Guyana - Former Surinamese dictator Desi Bouterse shrugged off questions about his past during his first overseas trip as elected president, saying Monday that he will not interfere in his ongoing murder trial and dismissing a 1999 drug conviction as "almost a joke." Bouterse traveled to Guyana to discuss the proposed construction of the first bridge over the river that divides the South American neighbors.

PARAMARIBO, Suriname - Suriname's newly elected president, former dictator Desi Bouterse, is ailing from an undisclosed illness and has temporarily ceded power to his vice president in the South American country.

PARAMARIBO, Suriname - A former coup leader, convicted drug trafficker and accused murderer swore to uphold the country's laws at his inauguration Thursday without mentioning concerns in Suriname and abroad about his return to power - this time through the democratic process.

PARAMARIBO, Suriname - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is a no-show as the former dictator of Suriname is being sworn in as president.

PARAMARIBO, Suriname - A former coup leader, convicted drug trafficker and accused murderer was sworn in as Suriname's president Thursday in a ceremony avoided by all the hemisphere's other leaders.