Justice & Law Quote by Ricardo Lagos

The sentence sounds almost aggressively obvious, and that is the point. Lagos uses “clearly” as a political crowbar: it forces assent before anyone can argue about the messy parts - sovereignty, due process, intelligence sharing, and the quiet bargains countries make when a “wanted” person is useful. The awkward, procedural rhythm (“when someone is wanted... and this person travels... and a country knows about it”) isn’t literary, but it functions like a checklist. He’s stripping the issue down to administrative common sense to make non-cooperation look not just immoral, but incompetent.

The key phrase is “international police.” That term flatters the idea of a coherent global rule-of-law system, even though in practice Interpol notices, extradition treaties, and political asylum claims are riddled with exceptions and power dynamics. Lagos is signaling allegiance to a rules-based international order, while also nudging other states: don’t hide behind technicalities when you could pick up the phone.

Subtextually, the quote is less about criminals than about state behavior. It’s a warning against safe havens and a rebuke to governments that treat fugitives as bargaining chips or ideological guests. It also positions reporting as the minimal duty - not arrest, not extradition, just transparency. That’s shrewd: it lowers the bar so refusal looks like bad faith.

Context matters: Lagos governed Chile in the post-Pinochet era, when legitimacy depended on demonstrating institutional seriousness at home and reliability abroad. “Report the fact” reads like a modest request, but it’s really a demand that states stop pretending neutrality when their silence is a form of protection.