Inspired by this thread/case but, luckily, I don’t need an answer fast*: what is the nicest country you, a US citizen, could flee to, without risk of getting extradited?
Say, you have at least…$500,000, and while you’re a wanted felon, you’re not Osama-level wanted, or active in any ongoing criminal activity. So you’re probably not going to get SEAL Team Six or major economic sanctions thrown after you.
Throwing enough money at the right people could probably buy you some comfort and protection, I imagine, but say you’d at least just be satisfied with a little cottage somewhere where you could live out your retirement, reasonably safe from war, famine, insane dictators, roving bandits, or plague baboons.
So…anyone want to weigh in? Your assistance will be remembered and rewarded when the day of rev—er, I mean, it could be an interesting thought experiment.**
*(At the moment.)
**(Yes, that will do.)
Just looking at that map briefly, I’d choose Andorra (without knowing their immigration laws.) It’s in Europe so I could (probably) travel around easily. It’s a country with a tourism industry so I imagine it’s fairly comfortable.
Half million is not going to buy you much anywhere but looking at that map I would say Russia or China are countries where you can live at first world level.
Being restricted to Andorra is like being restricted to your home and, in any case, I am pretty sure if you are really wanted you would not be safe in Andorra.
China and Russia would seem like best bets. Just ask Snowden.
The moment you cross the border to another country, you run the risk of being arrested and extradited by them, so travelling is not reallyan available option.
I’d suggest Indonesia – it’s a very popular destination for Western tourists, particularly Australian tourists. You could spend your life moving from beach to beach in Bali, and no one would notice you.
Andorra, hands down. However, they may not let you in with just chump change.
Marshall Is., Samoa or Vanuatu might take you for the crumbs you throw. There you’d have the nicest place to go even if you WEREN’T a felon.
Is there still time for you to commit a capital felony? That would open up all the EU countries, of which Monaco is the nicest. That little of money though won’t get you a cottage on the beach.
Those who propose Andorra have obviously never been there or know anything about it. It is slightly bigger than my living room and all there is there is a couple ski slopes and a shopping mall. Within a month you’d be bored out of your mind and asking to be sent to Guantánamo. I’d rather share a room with Assange in London.
I was going to suggest England as long as you stayed away from London … the OP wants a place “reasonably safe from war, famine, insane dictators, roving bandits, or plague baboons.” I have to agree that Cuba is nice, and without risk of getting extradited. A treaty exists, but I’d say you’d still have zero risk of getting sent back for prosecution.
I’d also like to add that being in another country without anextradition treaty with the US is not necessarily a guarantee you’d remain undisturbed. Even in the absence of such a treaty, there is little to prevent the country from extraditing you on an ad hoc basis, or simply prosecute you there.
Surely it would be cheaper to get a fake passport and come to the UK where Americans don’t stand out from the crowd, and the language is more or less the same. So long as you didn’t try to work or draw any benefits, no one is likely to bother you. If you are wanted for murder in a state with the death sentence, you might even risk applying for political asylum.
Seconded…it is cheap, far away from the US and there are plenty of expat/beach bums wandering around and you would not be noticed. $20,000 a year would let you live really well for 25 years and surviving on $10,000 a year wouldn’t be much trouble. Plus it is a relatively big place and you could even move islands on fishing boats if you really needed to.
If you are a smart bad guy, you have a legal passport and prior permission to go to that country for an extended time from it.
Now commit the crime and just leave before you are even looked for.
If you are just a dumb ass smash & grabber with only an fake drivers license, the clothes on your back and a bag of money, then even asking where to go just adds to the ‘dumb ass’ that makes the question moot.
Being wanted for a capital offence doesn’t make you immune from extradition. It just means the other country won’t extradite you unless the US guarantees you won’t be executed if convicted.
