War Criminal Ante Gotovina Arrested in Tenerife 20 Years Ago

The Canary Islands have long been a favored hiding place for criminals on the run, a territory where drug traffickers, sexual predators, and other fugitives have sought refuge for decades. This is the story of the arrest of Ante Gotovina, a notorious figure from the Balkan War, exactly 20 years ago today. The Croatian general was captured in a hotel complex in southern Tenerife.

Gotovina, a former mercenary, was one of the most ruthless individuals involved in the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s. He had been missing for over four years when authorities detected his presence in the Canary Islands in December 2005. Croatian secret services, Interpol, and the Spanish Police worked together to track him down, leading to his capture while he was on holiday at the Bitácora hotel in Playa de las Américas.

Just two months earlier, Gotovina had been spotted in the Canary Islands, but police were unable to act quickly enough, and he slipped away unnoticed. However, he became overconfident and returned to spend a long holiday weekend.

On December 2, 2005, Ante Gotovina landed at Tenerife South Airport. He took a taxi from Granadilla airport directly to the Bitácora hotel. He knew Tenerife well, having previously recovered there from injuries sustained while serving in the foreign legion in Chad. He spoke fluent Spanish, but when he checked into the hotel, he used English and registered under the false name Kristian Horuat. This choice of alias proved to be the crucial clue that reactivated the police teams tracking him, setting a deadly trap.

The name Kristian Horuat appeared on lists of hotel guests sent to immigration units. It was a "hot passport" because investigators had already linked the war criminal to this alias. Gotovina was wanted for his alleged involvement in 150 murders and the deportation of nearly 20,000 Serbs from Croatian territory. This breakthrough was a major turning point for the experts hunting down fugitives.

Interpol quickly alerted the Spanish police, and within hours, an operation was launched with international support. The National Police's elite Operational Response Group (GOR) meticulously planned the capture of Ante Gotovina, a Balkan War commander responsible for numerous atrocities. He had been declared one of the "most wanted fugitives" by the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague. Other high-profile targets included Radovan Karadzic, known as the Butcher of Sarajevo, and Ratko Mladic, often called the Butcher of Srebrenica. With one of the former Yugoslavia's most infamous figures within reach in southern Tenerife, authorities were determined not to let him escape again. Spain's Interior Ministry approved the operation, sending a dozen specialist police officers to the island.

Ante Gotovina had changed his appearance slightly, losing weight and dyeing his hair, but police needed to ensure the operation's success. For over 48 hours, officers went undercover as hotel guests, occupying adjacent rooms for close monitoring. Others infiltrated the cleaning services, reception, cafeteria, and restaurant, slowly tightening the net around him. The general rarely appeared in common areas, but when he did, he was under constant, close watch.

Although never officially confirmed, it was widely believed at the time that Gotovina began to suspect he was being watched. This, combined with his attempt to book an external excursion at reception, prompted the police to act. The arrest took place during dinner on December 7, 2005. Gotovina and a companion went to the dining room, where a waiter (who was actually a police officer) guided them to a quiet, out-of-the-way table.

Gotovina ordered red wine, starters, a salad, and fish, while his friend chose meat and vegetables. Everything seemed normal until the second course arrived.

"Mr. Gotovina, your dish!" the waiter announced.

Then, another police officer stepped forward and asked in Spanish, "Are you Mr. Ante Gotovina?"

Gotovina turned his head, saying nothing, but his gaze acknowledged the name.

"Mr. Gotovina, you are under arrest pursuant to an international search and arrest warrant."

This brought an end to his four years on the run. The criminal offered no resistance and was unarmed. He was handcuffed and taken to a hidden area, while his room was searched. His companion was temporarily detained and later released. Inside Gotovina's room, police found 12,000 euros in cash (24 €500 notes), a personal computer, and two passports. One passport was for "Kristian Horuat," and the other for "Stejepan Senicic," with stamps indicating travel to China, Chile, Russia, the Czech Republic, and a future destination in Mauritius dated November 25, 2025. Most curiously, they also found countless religious cards and figures, which he later claimed had helped him evade capture for years.

Details from a biography of Ante Gotovina by Nedad Ivankovic, which mentioned his recovery in Tenerife after being wounded in Chad, provided a crucial clue that helped track him to the Islands. He was then transferred to Spain's High Court in Madrid to face questioning about his alleged involvement in multiple crimes against humanity. During his appearance before Judge Félix Degayón, Gotovina remained silent. The judge quickly ordered him to Soto del Real prison in Madrid and arranged his immediate transfer to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague.

Gotovina was tried and sentenced in 2011 to 24 years in prison. However, in 2012, the ruling was overturned, and he was released due to insufficient evidence.

Ante Gotovina / Croatian General A former Croatian general who played an active role in the Balkan Wars (1991-2001). He spent four years as a fugitive from justice, wanted for crimes against humanity, before his arrest in southern Tenerife on December 7, 2005. In April 2011, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia found him guilty and sentenced him to 24 years in prison. However, just 18 months later, he was acquitted and released due to a lack of evidence.

Radovan Karadzic / Former President of Republika Srpska Known as the "Butcher of Sarajevo," this Serb-Bosnian psychiatrist and former politician, like Gotovina, was a fugitive from justice between 1996 and 2008. He was arrested in Belgrade by Serbian secret service agents. The United States had offered five million euros for his capture. After a judicial process lasting over eight years, he was initially sentenced to 40 years in prison as the main perpetrator of the Srebrenica genocide. In March 2019, this sentence was extended to life imprisonment.

Ratko Mladic / Chief of Staff of the Army of Republika Srpska Sharing Karadzic's brutal reputation, Mladic became known as the "Butcher of Srebrenica." He was also a fugitive for a long period, with the U.S. government offering a $5 million reward for his capture. Arrested in 2011, he was sentenced to life imprisonment six years later after being found guilty of ten of the eleven crimes he was accused of, including the murder of seven thousand Bosnian men and boys. He was tried in The Hague.