Surinamese President Jennifer Simons finds herself at the center of transparency concerns following revelations that her husband, Glenn Geerling, accompanied her on an official visit to Colombia despite his absence from the official delegation roster. The discrepancy emerged through photographs circulated after the January diplomatic mission, contradicting the president’s initial characterization of her traveling party.
During a press briefing Monday, President Simons had characterized the visit as a technical policy examination of Colombian hospital facilities rather than a state visit, emphasizing her conscious effort to maintain a minimal delegation without media personnel. She stated the delegation consisted solely of a security official, Suriname’s ambassador to Colombia, Minister André Misiekaba, and Humphrey Hasrat—a physician advisor involved in medical referral programs for Surinamese patients.
‘We deliberately kept the delegation small and avoided media accompaniment to maintain low costs and a low profile,’ President Simons explained during her initial remarks, noting that additional security was provided by Colombian authorities with only one security official traveling ahead from Suriname.
However, subsequent photographic evidence revealed the presidential spouse’s presence among the delegation, raising questions about the completeness of the official account. The president acknowledged the hospital had extended personal medical check-up invitations but maintained she declined these offers, insisting the visit focused exclusively on policy discussions regarding healthcare collaboration, preventive medicine, and aftercare coordination between medical institutions.
The absence of official media coverage, initially attributed to the deliberate exclusion of press personnel, now appears compounded by the undisclosed participation of the first gentleman. This development has sparked discussions about transparency protocols within presidential travel delegations and the disclosure requirements for accompanying family members on official government business.