# Aruba Security Situation



## infamazz (Jul 29, 2014)

Maybe I'm being overly cautious, but I'm not optimistic about security in Aruba in the near-term. Apparently they arrested a top Venezuelan general who was wanted in the US for being a drug kingpin. The Netherlands forced Aruba to release him before he could be extradited to the US. Also, it looks like Venezuela stationed warships around Aruba as a show of force (threat) while the kingpin was in jail.

I wouldn't put it past a drug kingpin to cause some trouble on the island in retaliation. Below is the link to the article and a few cut-and-paste paragraphs to show the gist if you don't have a WSJ subscription.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/arub...tary-pressure-on-it-1406594604?KEYWORDS=aruba

Aruba Says Venezuela Raised Military Pressure on It

CARACAS—The Netherlands' release of a former top Venezuelan official wanted by the U.S. for alleged drug trafficking came after Venezuela raised economic and military pressure on two Dutch islands in the Caribbean, a top Aruban official said Monday.

Aruba's chief prosecutor Peter Blanken said that Venezuelan navy ships neared Aruba and Curaçao over the weekend as Dutch officials were debating what to do with Hugo Carvajal —Venezuela's former chief of military intelligence who was jailed in Aruba last week on a U.S. warrant.

Mr. Carvajal, who ran military intelligence for the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, was a longtime confidante of the late leader. He took part in Mr. Chávez's unsuccessful 1992 military coup, and spent two years in prison with Mr. Chávez before being set free by a general amnesty in 1994.

Mr. Carvajal's role as one of the Chávez government's key liaisons to guerrillas from Colombia's Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC, emerged after computers belonging to a slain guerrilla leader were captured by Colombian security forces in 2008.

Largely due to the information contained in the computers, Mr. Carvajal, along with two other top Venezuelan military officers, was put on the "Kingpin" blacklist issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury that same year.

U.S. officials say Mr. Carvajal used his power to protect drug traffickers. In a Miami indictment unsealed Thursday just after his arrest in Aruba, the U.S. accused the Venezuelan official of taking bribes from late Colombian kingpin Wilber Varela, who was killed in 2008. In return for the money, Mr. Carvajal allegedly allowed Mr. Varela to freely use Venezuelan territory and waters for smuggling drugs to the U.S. by way of third countries like Mexico.


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## Wally3433 (Jul 29, 2014)

I agree.  I was not planning on playing blackjack at the Ritz with Venezuelan Drug Kingpins that are wanted by the US, when I planned my vacation that starts in 30 days.

I can't really see any sort of widespread or large retaliation because that would just attract unwanted involvement of the US and Netherlands into the situation.

But, I can see a passive aggressive retaliation against Aruba officials involved.

Either way, not a good feeling from this news.  We shall see how it shakes out - maybe it will just go away.


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## Wally3433 (Jul 30, 2014)

From Eddy on the aruba-bb.com board:

Mr. Hugo Carvajal was apprehended by the Aruban authorities upon arrival at the airport, that was demanded by the U.S. authorities. The Venezuelan government was angry and issued a boycott on air travel to the ABC islands, lower refinery production on Curacao, and strain other commercial ties with The Dutch Kingdom. The air travel boycott hit Aruba particularly hard, as hundreds of passengers were left stranded causing angry moments at the airport, some did not had money for extra accommodation nights and red cross accommodations had to be arranged. The boycott lasted almost a day when the Aruban government intervened in the matter. Mr. Carvajal was released a few days later on demand of the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs based in The Netherlands. Note, that the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs is responsible for all Aruban foreign affairs, including this matter. 

Mr. Hugo Carvajal was appointed council for the Venezuelan consulate in Aruba. Note, The Dutch are against Mr. Carvajal being appointed as council for the consulate in Aruba based on his past record. The reason why he was let go is that since he is appointed council by Venezuela, he is immune to be prosecuted on foreign soil. The Dutch and Venezuela authorities agreed to let Mr. Carvajal go and have him expelled immediately back to Venezuela on a private plane. In addition he is declared "persona non grata" on Dutch Kingdom soil. Which means that Mr. Carvajal is not allowed to enter any Dutch territory.

yes, there were 4 Venezuelan war ships at a distance from Aruba. The Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs says that there was never a threat on attacking Aruba. The ships were there due to a military training in the vicinity according to the Dutch Mnister of Foreign Affairs.

* This could be a coincidence of matters, or that a threat of attacking Aruba was taking very serious by The Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs which led him to make the decision to let Mr. Caravajal go and have him expelled back to Venezuela to never set foot again on Dutch Kingdom soil.


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## LisaRex (Aug 3, 2014)

I think that you if you looked hard enough, you could find a reason to be concerned about the security of any place you'd want to travel to.


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