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dinsdag 17 april 2012

Report Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement corruption in Curacao

Dutch Caribbean

A. Introduction

The Dutch Caribbean consists of Aruba, Curaçao, Dutch St. Maarten , and the islands of Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba (known as the BES islands). Since October 2010, Curaçao and Dutch St. Maarten have acquired the same semi-autonomous status within the Kingdom of the Netherlands that Aruba has had since 1986. The BES islands have become part of the Netherlands, similar to the Dutch municipalities, and now constitute the Caribbean part of the Netherlands. The Netherlands Antilles no longer exists as a political entity.

Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire, located off the coast of Venezuela, continue to serve as northbound transshipment points for cocaine and heroin coming from Colombia and Venezuela and primarily destined for the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe. Dutch St. Maarten, on the other hand, which is located in the Eastern Caribbean, is a transshipment hub for cocaine and heroin destined for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Typically, drugs are transported by "go-fast" boats, although the use of fishing boats, freighters, and cruise ships is also common.

The Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard (DCCG) has air and surface resources available to conduct counter narcotics operations and is considered by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to be an important partner in the Caribbean Region in the fight against narcotics trafficking.

B. Drug Control Accomplishments, Policies, and Trends

1. Institutional Development

Aruba, Curaçao, and Dutch St. Maarten have a high degree of autonomy over their internal affairs, with the right to exercise independent decision making in a number of counternarcotics areas. The Kingdom of the Netherlands is responsible for the defense and foreign affairs of all the constituent countries, including the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom, and assists the Governments of Aruba, Curaçao, Dutch St. Maarten, and the BES islands in their efforts to combat narcotics trafficking.

The Dutch Caribbean did not adopt any new laws or initiate any new counternarcotics programs in 2011. The Kingdom of the Netherlands has notified the United Nations as well as the United States that the modification of the structure of the Kingdom on October 10, 2010 (when the Netherlands Antilles ceased to exist) would not affect the validity of international agreements ratified by the Kingdom before that date and as described below.

The Netherlands extended the 1988 UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances ("Vienna Convention") to the former Netherlands Antilles and Aruba in March 1999, with the limitation that its obligations under certain provisions would only be applicable in so far as they were in accordance with former Netherlands Antilles and Aruba criminal legislation and policy on criminal matters. The obligations of the Netherlands as a party to the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, as amended by the 1972 Protocol, applied to the former Netherlands Antilles and Aruba upon accession. The Netherlands extended the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three Protocols to Aruba in 2007 and extended the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances to the former Netherlands Antilles in 1999.

The Netherlands’ 1981 Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with the United States applied to the former Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, although the new United States-Netherlands Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement does not. Both Aruba and the former Netherlands Antilles have routinely honored requests made under the MLAT and cooperate extensively with the United States on law enforcement matters at less formal levels. The 2004 United States-Netherlands Extradition Agreement and its Annex does apply to the Dutch Caribbean; and both the former Netherlands Antilles and Aruba have been extremely cooperative in extraditing drug traffickers to the United States. In addition, the former Netherlands Antilles and Aruba adopted the Agreement Regarding Mutual Cooperation in the Tracing, Freezing, Seizure and Forfeiture of the Proceeds and Instrumentalities of Crime and the Sharing of Forfeited Assets, which was signed by the Government of the Netherlands in 1994.

Aruba

The DEA’s Curaçao Country Office considers the Korps Politie Aruba (KPA) to be one of the most effective regional partners in the fight against narcotics trafficking. The KPA is a highly professional and motivated police agency that conducted several successful drug trafficking investigations in 2011 targeting trafficking organizations that were receiving multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine from supply sources located on the north coast of Colombia.

Curaçao

The Special Police Task Force, “Recherche Samenwerkingsteam (RST),” a temporary Dutch government-supported task force, is headquartered in Curaçao and maintains its largest presence there. In 2011, RST units conducted several successful operations to thwart organized crime groups.

Because of Curaçao’s new semi-autonomous status, the RST is trying to take a less prominent role in law enforcement thus allowing the Korps Politie Curacao (KPC) to become the lead agency for drug trafficking investigations. The KPC’s Bureau of Narcotics (BNO) most high profile investigation was operation “Bermuda” that targeted trafficking at the Curaçao Hato Airport and resulted in several drug seizures and arrests. In 2011, the KPC was the primary law enforcement agency in Curaçao to handle treaty requests from the United States. Despite its successes, however, police sources have also reported a lack of leadership within the KPC, which has been without a permanent police chief since Curaçao became a semi-autonomous country in 2010. This has led to lower morale among KPC personnel.

The Dutch Military Police or “Koninklijke Marechausse (KMAR)” - the intelligence arm of the DCCG - also maintains a large presence in Curaçao. In recent years, the DEA and KMAR have detected an increase in illicit drug flights utilizing Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao as stopover points. In an effort to combat these flights, DEA and KMAR jointly sponsored training at the DEA El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC) for airport officials in Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao.

Dutch St. Maarten

Law Enforcement agencies in Dutch St. Maarten are overwhelmed by the crime situation on the island, and they lack both training and personnel to properly investigate serious crimes. The RST has stepped in to fill this void, expanding its traditional role of performing only international investigations to include investigating homicides and other violent crimes.

Bonaire, St. Eustatius, Saba

The National Office for the Caribbean in the Netherlands assumes the responsibilities of law enforcement, security, and other administrative functions on behalf of the Government of the Netherlands for Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba islands.

2. Supply Reduction

Approximately 4,890 kg of cocaine were seized in the entire Dutch Caribbean in 2011.

3. Demand Reduction

The Department of State, in coordination with the DEA Country Office in Curaçao, continues to manage demand reduction programs with the International School of Curaçao, the Girl Scouts of Curaçao, and the Curaçao Baseball City Foundation.

4. Corruption

No part of the Dutch Caribbean encourages or facilitates illicit drug production or is involved in laundering the proceeds of the sale of illicit drugs. Certain improvements are needed, however, to address a lack of public integrity standards in many governmental agencies. For example, the local police departments on all the islands could improve screening of law enforcement applicants and enforce background checks of law enforcement officials who hold sensitive positions.

The Government of Curaçao, specifically, is struggling with public allegations of corruption, which provoked an investigation by a special Dutch investigator who produced the “Rosenmoller Report.” The Dutch Government asked Curaçao to follow up on this Dutch-initiated investigation, citing possible wrongdoing by various Curaçao cabinet members. The Curaçao Government, however, refused to investigate and was of the opinion that the report contained unfounded accusations. It is still unknown how these corruption allegations will be resolved.

C. National Goals, Bilateral Cooperation, and U.S. Policy Initiatives

The objectives of U.S. policy in the Dutch Caribbean are to reduce illicit trafficking, advance public safety and security, and promote social justice. In particular, U.S. officials working with their island counterparts strive to take actions which allow DEA domestic offices to advance their investigations.

The Dutch St. Maarten Prosecutor’s Office has been slow to respond to Mutual Law Enforcement Treaty Requests from the United States regarding ongoing drug investigations. Organized criminal groups are aware of this weakness and utilize Dutch St. Maarten as a safe haven for drug trafficking.

Aruban authorities were very cooperative in 2011 with the execution of treaty requests submitted by the United States requesting assistance in narcotics investigations.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands demonstrated its commitment to counternarcotics efforts by continuing to support a U.S. Forward Operating Location (FOL) at the Curaçao Hato International Airport. U.S. military aircraft conduct counternarcotics detection and monitoring flights over both the source and transit zones. The agreement also includes a smaller FOL at the Reina Beatrix International Airport in Aruba.

In addition, the Dutch Navy regularly operates in the region for security purposes, and, at times, supports counternarcotics efforts of the Joint Inter Agency Task Force (JIATF) South including the embarkation of USCG Law Enforcement Detachments on their warships.

D. Conclusion

The United States encourages the Dutch Caribbean and the Kingdom of the Netherlands to continue their efforts to support the region through proactive counternarcotics activities and improved law enforcement intelligence sharing. The use of technical investigative equipment to confront major drug traffickers has proven to be successful. The United States also encourages Dutch Navy participation in offshore patrolling of the region, as it provides an important contribution to interdiction efforts and combined operations with U.S. counternarcotics agencies.


Source Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs


Report

March 7, 2012


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