Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the country’s authorities today on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, or ICC. The court secretly issued the arrest warrant Friday for crimes against humanity over Duterte’s brutal war on drugs during both his time as president and as mayor of the city of Davao beforehand. Duterte has reportedly been placed on a plane bound for the Hague, where the court is based. (New York Times)
Our Take
This arrest is the latest example of the ICC’s expanding geopolitical reach and purview, but it also comes after more than a decade of the court investigating Duterte. First as mayor of Davao for more than two nonconsecutive decades and then later as Philippine president from 2016 to 2022, Duterte oversaw a brutal and bloody war on drugs that often operated outside the law.
As Joshua Kurlantzick and Abigail McGowan wrote recently for WPR:
