The U.S. Interpol liaison office issued a statement last night explaining a recent executive order that grants Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization, certain diplomatic privileges here in the United States.
They did so because this mundane bureaucratic procedure somehow generated a great deal of conspiracy theory mongering among a certain cadre of pundit. As I noted in two previous posts, people who think this gives Interpol expanded authority to operate in the United States are clueless as to what Interpol is and how it operates. Still, the Interpol liaison office at the Justice Department, called the U.S. National Central Bureau, seems to be seizing the spotlight to which it has been suddenly thrust to make this a teachable moment about Interpol.
As you can see from the statement below, Interpol was given expanded diplomatic privileges in the United States because Interpol recently opened an office at the United Nations in New York. As it happens, I’ve been to that office. And it looks pretty much…like an office. There are about a half dozen or so people that work there and the diplomatic privileges extended to Interpol employees at the UN office are nothing more than the standard diplomatic courtesies extended to other employees of international organizations that have an office in the United States.
Anyone who has suggested that this executive order gives Interpol the authority to arrest Americans is simply mistaken. Interpol, as I’ve said previously, does not arrest anyone, anywhere in the world. Anyway, here is the statement from the US National Central Bureau: