PARAMARIBO - Former president and ex-military leader Desi Bouterse may be in Venezuela, according to the Surinamese newspaper Times of Suriname reported on Saturday. 

Bouterse failed to report to prison on Friday to begin serving his twenty-year sentence. The former president is said to have traveled to Brazil using an aircraft from a foreign company, and from there, he may have continued his journey to Venezuela, as stated by sources to the Times of Suriname. Bouterse is believed to have left Suriname on December 17. 

The Surinamese Court of Justice sentenced the ex-president on December 20. However, it was reported that he had already left the country before the verdict was announced. There is considerable uncertainty about Bouterse's current whereabouts. Party members claim that the former president is still in Suriname, while his spouse says she does not know where he is. Additionally, she mentioned that her husband has no intention of reporting to prison. 

Last week, the Public Prosecution Service of Suriname announced that an arrest team would pick up Bouterse if he failed to surrender for his sentence.