After an intense lobbying campaign by the US against a Vladimir Putin crony, Interpol has chosen South Korean Kim Jong Yang to be the next president of the international law enforcement agency Interpol.

Russian Maj. Gen. Alexander Prokopchuk of the interior ministry had been the leading candidate to replace Meng Hongwei of China, who is currently missing and presumed arrested by the Chinese government on corruption charges. But there were questions about Prokopchuk's close ties to Putin and the possible abuse of the "red notice" system that the Russian would use to go after political opponents rather than criminals.

NBCNews:

Prokopchuk was defeated by South Korea's Kim Jong Yang, who secured at least two-thirds of votes cast at the organization’s annual congress in Dubai.

Kim had been acting president since Meng’s detention and was backed by the White House.

More than a dozen American senators wrote an open letter opposing Prokopchuk’s bid, accusing Russia of exploiting the global body to settle scores and harass dissidents.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said it was “akin to putting a fox in charge of a henhouse.”

Before the vote, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged delegates from the 194 member states to “choose a leader with credibility and integrity that reflects one of the world's most critical law enforcement bodies.”

He added: “We believe Mr. Kim will be just that."

Britain and other European nations were also opposed to the longtime veteran of Russia's security services getting the role.

With recent events suggesting that Vladimir Putin will violate international norms by going after political opponents on foreign soil, it's not surprising that most member states would deny Putin the opportunity to track his foes thanks to Interpol's considerable reach. The international agency's network of local and national police forces allows it to centralize information. They don't arrest anyone, but are an invaluable resource to police and law enforcement around the world. 

Were fears of Putin's control over the agency justified? The Russian president has shown he will go to great lengths to rid himself of his political enemies. It's possible he would have used Interpol's resources improperly. The agency has rules against involving itself in domestic political fights and the bottom line is that Putin could not be trusted to keep his hands off.