Drug Dealers, Mobsters, and Pimps, Oh My!

Well...not so much pimps as the other two. I hope this doesn't disappoint- but keep in mind this is only about half of the articles about drug trade and money laundering in Aruba that I've collected.

Associated Press article, October 10, 1997

Accused Aruban drug smugglers face extradition to U.S. (excerpt)

Two members of a powerful Aruban banking family face extradition to the United States on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering.

Extradition is a touchy political issue on this Dutch Caribbean island. And the case against the Mansur family is believed to have contributed to the collapse of the coalition government last month.

Cousins Alex and Erick Mansur were arrested Oct. 3 along with Arubans David Cybul and Randy Habibe after a judge agreed to hear a U.S. extradition request. The four are charged with numerous counts of drug trafficking and money laundering.

In a move to block the extraditions, the Mansur family this week foreclosed on several loans outstanding to Prime Minister Henny Eman. He may be forced into bankruptcy and out of the running in the Dec. 14 general elections.

U.S. narcotics officials long have alleged that the Mansurs have ties to South American drug lords. Aruba is on the U.S. State Department list of leading money-laundering centers and the island, which lies about 20 miles off the north coast of Venezuela, is a haven for South American drug traffickers, according to the drug-fighting agency.

((Note: Since 1998 Aruba is considered a 'Tier Two' nation by the U.S. State Department in regards to money laundering and drug trafficking, having met the minimum standards for combating such))

Associated Press article, June 5 1998 (excerpt)

Aruban businessman pleads innocent in laundering, smuggling case

An Aruban businessman accused of reaching the heights of drug-money laundering by cleansing $ 800 million in profits pleaded innocent to charges carrying a possible life prison term.

After staying beyond the legal reach of the United States for five years, Randolph Habibe made his first appearance in a U.S. court Thursday thanks to a change in Aruban extradition rules last October.

Habibe acted as the chief financial officer of La Costa drug cartel based on Colombia's north coast, working as both smuggler and launderer with the Medellin and Cali cartels in the 1980s and early 1990s, U.S. investigators charge.

Aruba, a Dutch island 20 miles off the Venezuelan coast, is on a State Department list of leading money-laundering centers.

Inter Press Service/Global Information Network, March 25 1999 (excerpt)

CRIME-CARIBBEAN: "DIRTY MONEY" SCOURGE CONTINUES TO PLAGUE REGION

By Wesley Gibbings

Five years after the establishment of a regional secretariat to initiate Caribbean-wide action against money laundering, the scourge of "dirty money" continues to plague the region.

A number of regional territories have been classified as being "high," "medium high" and "medium" category money-laundering centers in studies conducted by the U.S. State Department.

Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles, for example, were described in a 1997 report as being "high priority" territories with money laundering organizations involved in multi-million dollar building and land development projects.

"Such transnational criminality undermines the legitimacy and viability of our institutions and has the potential to shred the democratic fabric of our society that we guard so jealously," he (Trinidad and Tobago foreign Affairs Minister Ralph Maraj) says.

It is widely-believed that money laundering activities have intensified within recent years and that a number of thriving businesses are being used to front those activities.

In The Bahamas, where officials long denied there was evidence of money laundering, strong legislation is now in place.

((Perhaps Aruba should follow the Bahamas' example and face the truth about their safe, happy island))

Canada NewsWire Ltd. December 20, 2005 (excerpt)

Key figure in International Organized Crime Group Extradited to the United States

A three and a half year police operation, Project OMERTA, took another step towards its completion today when Nunzio Larosa was extradited to the United States.

Larosa was investigated along with members of the Caruana criminal organization who have been convicted and sentenced for drug offences in Canada.

This criminal organization had been operating for more than 30 years in Canada, Venezuela, Aruba, the United States, Mexico, England, Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany, Spain, Thailand, and India. This group was responsible for major shipments of narcotics to both North America and Europe.

It laundered its own drug profits as well as providing money laundering services to other criminal organizations.

The National Post, October 12, 2004 (excerpt)

I have right to stay: convicted mobster

By Adrian Humphreys

TORONTO - A man billed as one of the world's most powerful Mafia bosses, who chose Canada as his base for an international drug trafficking empire described by a judge as being of "near staggering proportions," will stand today in an Ontario court and invoke the Canadian Charter of Rights to claim that extradition to his native Italy would deprive him of life, liberty and security.

In 1993, when police in Venezuela raided several of the Caruanas' homes and seized computer records, the documents suggested they had bought 60% of the total real estate on the island of Aruba, leading some to believe they were trying to build their own Mafia state.

((I wonder who filled the vacuum- Mansurs? Posners? The Cali cartel?))

http://news.caribseek.com/set-up/exec/view.cgi?archive=67&num=14291

Dutch Caribbean
By INCSR 2005

Posted: May 15, 2005 15:01 UTC

I. Summary

Aruba, the Netherlands Antilles, and the Netherlands together form the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The two Caribbean parts of the Kingdom have autonomy over their internal affairs, with the right to exercise independent decision making in a number of counternarcotics areas. The Government of the Netherlands (GON) is responsible for the defense and foreign affairs of all three parts of the Kingdom and assists the Government of Aruba (GOA) and the Government of the Netherlands Antilles (GONA) in their efforts to combat narcotics trafficking. The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, and all three parts are subject to the Convention. Both Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles are active members of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF).

II. Status of Country

Netherlands Antilles

The islands of the Netherlands Antilles (NA) (Curacao, Aruba, and Bonaire off Venezuela and Saba, Saint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten east of the U.S. Virgin Islands) continue to serve as northbound transshipment points for cocaine and increasing amounts of heroin coming from South America; chiefly Colombia, Venezuela, and to a much lesser extent, Suriname. These shipments typically are transported to U.S. territory in the Caribbean by "go-fast" boats although use of fishing boats, freighters, and cruise ships is becoming more common. Direct transport to Europe, and at times to the U.S., is by "mules" (drug couriers) using commercial flights. Evidence in 2004 did not support a finding that drugs now entering the United States from the Netherlands Antilles are in an amount sufficient to have a significant effect on the United States, but the entire eastern and southern Caribbean is an area of U.S. concern. The DEA and local law enforcement saw continued go-fast boat traffic this year, much of which moved to Sint Maarten en route to Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands. Additionally, there was a marked increase in sailing vessels and larger vessels that were used to clandestinely move multi-hundred kilogram shipments of cocaine under the guise of recreational maritime traffic.

Officials at St. Maarten have taken this threat seriously by initiating joint U.S. cooperative investigations as well as adopting new law enforcement strategies to combat the problems.

The crime and homelessness stemming from drug abuse remained important concerns for the GONA. After Curacao experienced a stunning increase in drug-related homicides in 2002 with an additional moderate increase in 2003, reporting during 2004 saw a reduction of 45 percent to 13 total drug related homicides. This was attributed to successful regional enforcement operations, one of which was followed by a period of five weeks with no homicides.

Peru, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and other European markets topped the noteworthy list. These changes were paralleled by the GONA’s re-prioritization of the "Zero Tolerance" teams whose primary mission is to identify illegal immigrants to the islands and deport them. This was accompanied by the Minister of Justice’s arrangement with the Netherlands to support new law enforcement missions via loans to cover police overtime, prison reforms, and to station additional Dutch police in the Antilles. He continues to push initiatives such as improving intelligence networks, developing direct Antillean to other foreign country liaison, and acquiring tools like container scanning devices and ground based radar for the region.

Elected officials and all elements of the law enforcement and judicial community recognize that the NA, chiefly due to geography, faces a serious threat from drug trafficking. The police, who are understaffed and need additional training, have received some additional resources, including support from the National Guard. On March 12, 2004, the local parliament declared a state of emergency as it related to internal crime.

Aruba

Aruba is a transshipment point for increasing quantities of heroin, and to a lesser extent cocaine, moving north, mainly from Colombia, to the U.S. and secondarily to Europe. Drugs move north via cruise ships and the multiple daily flights to the U.S. and Europe.

The island attracts drug traffickers with its good infrastructure, excellent flight connections, and relatively light sentences for drug-related crimes served in prisons with relatively good living conditions. This problem is further promulgated by the Netherlands Antilles’ law enforcement successes in Curacao during 2004, which necessitated a change in route on the part of the traffickers in the region.

While Aruba enjoys a low crime rate, reporting during 2004 indicates that prominent drug traffickers are establishing themselves sporadically on the island. Additionally, Arubans worry about the easy availability of inexpensive drugs. The most visible evidence of a drug abuse problem may be the homeless addicts, called "chollars" who number about 300 and whose photographs routinely appear in publications to increase public awareness to drug abuse and to stem an increase in crime.

((Hey Dompig- what does your brother-in-law 'Booty' do for a living?))

Drug abuse in Aruba remains a cause for concern. Personal use quantities of the various types of drugs are easily found within walking distance of Oranjestad’s cruise pier and are frequently peddled to cruise ship tourists. Over the last year, cruise lines that visit Aruba have instituted strict boarding/search policies for employees in order to thwart efforts of the traffickers to establish regular courier routes back to the United States. The expanding use of MDMA in clubs by young people attracts increasing attention. Private foundations on the island work on drug education and prevention and the Aruban government’s top counternarcotics official actively reaches out to U.S. sources for materials to use in his office’s prevention programs. The police also work in demand reduction programs for the schools and visit them regularly. The government has established an interagency commission to develop plans and programs to discourage youth from trafficking between the Netherlands and the U.S. The Government has been very clear that it intends to pursue a dynamic counternarcotics strategy in close cooperation with its regional and international partners.

In 2004, Aruban law enforcement officials continued to investigate and prosecute mid-level drug traffickers who supply drugs to the endless parade of "mules." During 2004, there were several instances where Aruban authorities cooperated with U.S. authorities to realize U.S. prosecutions of American citizens arrested in Aruba while attempting to return to the United States with drugs in multi-kilogram quantities. Aruba also devotes substantial time and effort to the identification of the person’s responsible for the importation of drugs to Aruba. During 2004, Aruba realized a successful investigation with Jamaican Police and U.S. authorities that targeted a substantial heroin trafficking organization.

The GOA hosts the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Bureau of Customs and Border Protection pre-inspection and pre-clearance personnel at Reina Beatrix airport. These officers occupy facilities financed and built by the GOA. DHS seizures of cocaine, heroin, and ecstasy were frequent in 2004. Drug smugglers arrested are either prosecuted in Aruba or returned to the U.S. for prosecution, if appropriate. Aruban jails remain critically overcrowded. The GOA established special cells in which to detain those suspected of ingesting drugs. Aruban officials regularly explore ways to capitalize on the presence of the FOL and pre-clearance personnel, seeking to use resident U.S. law enforcement expertise to improve local law enforcement capabilities.

Seizures. Available drug seizure statistics for calendar year 2004 are as follows:

Aruba seized 226.122 kilograms of cocaine, 16.901 kilograms of heroin, 91.838 kilograms of marijuana, 115 grams of hashish, and 1070 tablets of MDMA ("Ecstasy"), and 636 marijuana plants. Arrests: 222

http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Netherlands-2.htm

THE NETHERLANDS (TIER 1) [Extracted from U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June 2005]

The Netherlands is primarily a destination and transit country for trafficking of women and girls for the purpose of sexual exploitation; trafficking for labor exploitation exists to a lesser extent. Most victims are trafficked from Central and Eastern Europe, with some victims from Nigeria and Brazil. Reportedly, a significant percentage of the 25,000 individuals engaged in prostitution reportedly are trafficking victims. Internal trafficking of young, mostly foreign girls by Moroccan and Turkish pimps into sexual exploitation also occurs. The Netherlands Antilles, where the Netherlands exercises responsibility over visa issuance according to guidelines issued by the Netherlands Antilles, became more of a concern as a transit and destination for illegal migrants, some of whom may have been trafficked.

The Government of the Netherlands fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.

Protection In 2004, the Dutch government increased its funding for shelters assisting trafficking victims by 1.2 million Euros. Additionally, regional governments funded shelters, victim protection programs and local education programs. The Dutch Foundation Against Trafficking in Persons (STV), the national reporting center for registration and assistance for trafficking victims, registered 405 trafficking victims in 2004, an increase from 267 the previous year. Moreover, 185 trafficking victims received B-9 residency permits, an increase from 84 in 2003.

THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN AUTONOMOUS REGIONS Anecdotal reporting suggests that the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, autonomous regions within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, are transit and destination regions for trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation. Curacao and Saint Maarten, in particular, reportedly are destination islands for women trafficked for the sex trade from Columbia, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. In Curacao (and neighboring Aruba) observers estimate that 500 foreign women are in prostitution, some of whom may have been trafficked. There are also reports of children being trafficked for sexual exploitation as underage prostitutes, particularly from the Dominican Republic. In September 2004, Curacao prosecuted and sentenced two traffickers who trafficked children from Suriname to Curacao using fraudulent documents. Visas for Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles are issued by Dutch Embassies following review by Aruban or Netherlands Antilles' authorities. Visa controls were reportedly tightened in 2004. Also in 2004, the Dutch government provided 100,000 Euros to an IOM program focused on awareness raising, information dissemination and regional cooperation targeting officials from the Dutch Caribbean.

((American Amy Bradley disappeared from a cruise ship in Curacao in 1998- or if you believe the Curacao investigators, she 'fell overboard'. Amazing how many parallels Amy's disappearance and Natalee's have in common: pretty American girls who disappear without a trace while in the company of locals, they both disappeared from Dutch Caribbean territory, and in both cases the local authorities and government made only token attempts to solve their disappearances. And these are the places where we should spend our tourism money- places where the governments have a history of corruption, crime, and obviously do not care about the safety of their visitors?!))

http://www.greyhoundaction.org.uk/iUSAnews.html

Track under scrutiny for alleged mob link
Jim Baron
03/04/2005

PROVIDENCE -- Lincoln Park may have to shut down its racing simulcast arrangement with 10 gambling entities across the country that are named in a federal indictment tying them to the Gambino organized crime family.

Lincoln Park spokesman Michael Trainor said the track "is going to follow the direction of the DBR."

In January, federal prosecutors in New York issued an 88-count indictment charging 17 defendants with operating an illegal gambling business that, over the last four years, brokered more than $200 million in bets on horse racing and other sporting events.

Besides the Lakes Region race track, the other entities named in the indictment include Racing and Gaming Services (St. Kitts); Euro Track (Isle of Man); Tonkawa Indian Reservation (Oklahoma); Coeur d’Alene Casino (Idaho); International Racing Corp. (Curacao); Elite Turf Club (Curacao); Excelsior Casino (Aruba); Capital Sports Limited (Australia), and Darwin All Sports (Australia).

((Excelsior Casino- isn't that the one convicted Chicago mobster Michael Posner owns? I do believe it is! The same Michael Posner convicted of involvement in the Ferriola-Infelice mafia family's activities in Illinois: He (Rocky Infelice) also operated the Front Runner Messenger Service, a horse-betting parlor in Highwood belonging to Michael Posner, a protege of of Ferriola and a kingpin in Lake County mob vice operations. Source: http://www.ipsn.org/lolli1.html).

Appearing in the Trade Register of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in ARUBA since 22 JUNE 1998 under serial number 23398.0 is the company with the tradename:
EXCELSIOR CASINO N.V.
Business address	J.E. IRAUSQUIN BLVD. 230, NOORD
Legal form	LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
Name of the company	EXCELSIOR CASINO N.V.
Statutory seat	ARUBA
Date of incorporation	19 JUNE 1998
Authorized capital	ARUBAN FLORINS 100,000.00
Issued capital	ARUBAN FLORINS 20,000.00
Paid up capital	ARUBAN FLORINS 20,000.00
Fiscal year	01 JANUARY thru 31 DECEMBER
DIRECTORS - AUTHORIZED PERSONS AND CORPORATE BODIES - SUPERVISORY BOARD:
POSNER, WALTER BRETT;
Residing in	9 BANOCKBURN COURT , BANOCKBURN III, U.S.A.
Born in	U.S.A., CHICAGO, ILLINOIS on 21 MAY 1960
Nationality	AMERICAN
Position	MANAGING DIRECTOR
Effective	23 OCTOBER 1998
Authority	FULL
OBJECTIVE(S) OF THE COMPANY
TO OPERATE A CASINO AT THE "HOLIDAY IN RESORT". The Rothschilds of the Mafia on Aruba (excerpt) Tom Blickman - TNI Researcher Transnational Organized Crime Vol. 3, No. 2, Summer 1997 The MPs of the Staten van Aruba the Aruban Parliament must have been bewildered when one of their own ministers smeared the good name of their island. Former minister Elio Nicolaas grins when he is reminded of his speech in 1989. (1) Finally someone had thrown a rock in the silent and complacent waters of the Caribbean tax-haven Aruba – a semi-independent part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. "I had to react," he says. "My own colleague, the Minister of Finance, denied money was laundered on the island." Nicolaas knew better. Prior to his political career he had been a police officer and had actually set up the anti-narcotics squad "Aruba's geographical position is a blessing and a curse at the same time," says Eman, alluding to the pleasant climate which attracts thousands of tourists each year, and the unpleasant closeness of the Colombian and Venezuelan northern shores which makes it vulnerable for drug-traffickers. According to Eman, Aruba is burdened with the problem of other nations: "The drug trade is not Aruba's primary responsibility. The market is in Europe and the United States. It is not our fault they cannot control their borders, that Aruba is used as a transit point." (That is just like Aruba- deny you have a problem and shift the blame elsewhere) The US Government is not as dismissive as Mr. Eman. Within three years Aruba rose from a 'medium risk' to a 'high risk' country in the State Department's annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report. The island is used as a base for bulk transhipment of cocaine to the US and Europe, through its Free Trade Zone. Off-shore corporate banking facilities, the casino/resort complexes, high volume tourism, and a stable currency all make Aruba attractive to money laundering organizations. Eman considers these reports as too negative and suggests that Aruba is in good company since "the US and Holland rank number one on the list as well." (And the U.S. aggressively combats such activities, instead of letting politicians make friends with the criminal elements here) The US is concerned about credible reports that some members of the Aruban government met regularly with individuals associated with drug trafficking and money laundering syndicates. In spite of, or perhaps because of, the denials by Aruba officials, the US remains convinced that entrenched money laundering organizations direct large cash deposits into land development and other construction projects on the island. The Netherlands is equally worried. "I think we are going to loose it on Aruba," Arthur Docters van Leeuwen, the Dutch Attorney General, said about the counter-narcotics efforts on the island. Aruba is in the hands of some powerful families and Holland can't do anything about it, due to constitutional restraints. The reasons for Docters' pessimism were revealed when a confidential report on the Aruban Security Service the Veiligheidsdienst Aruba (VDA) leaked in the Dutch press. In October 1994 its director Martien Ras had sounded the alarm-bell. He had written to Docters, then chief of the Dutch security service, that democratically elected officials promoted the interests of private business-men to such an extent that Aruba's democratic institutions were in danger. December 1996 President Clinton put Aruba on the list of Major Illicit Drug-transit Countries. Aruba is now eligible for de-certification by the US Government. At the yearly certification scrutiny March 1997, however, Aruba was not decertified. The First Independent State under Mafia Control Aruba's reputation as a 'Mafia island' became public in March 1993 when it was described by the Italian daily Corriere della Sera as 'the first state to be bought by the bosses Cosa Nostra'. The Sicilian Mafia clan of the families Cuntrera and Caruana allegedly had taken over the island. Between 1988 and 1992 they acquired 60 per cent of Aruba through investments in hotels, casino's and the election-campaign of a Prime Minister. Aruba looked set to be the first independent state under Mafia control. Prime Minister Eman doesn't like to be reminded of the name Cuntrera – primarily because of his signature on the licence of Paolo and Giuseppe Cuntrera for their nightclub Visage in 1987. It keeps hurting him, even though he tries to dismiss it as "a very superseded story." According to Eman, at the time these people were honourable citizens in several countries, among others in Venezuela. In Aruba, their criminal activities were not known. Moreover, "when we learned who they really were, we expelled them." The issue also became highly politicized. The two main political parties the Arubaanse Volkspartij (AVP, Aruban Peoples Party) led by Eman and the Moviemento Electoral di Pueblo (MEP, People's Electoral Movement) led by Nelson Oduber accused each other of permitting the Cuntrera's to infest Aruba and both claim to have kicked them off the island. In reality, the Cuntrera's had left temporarily on their own in 1988. Responsible for the operation was the chief of the Organized Crime Division of the Polícia Tecnica Judicial (PTJ), Guillermo Jiminez. It was his finest hour, but a few months later he was forced in early retirement. Now he spends his time at a private office downtown Caracas. "We searched their houses and offices. We managed to seize lots of documents, that is what made the operation successful," says Jimnez. These documents included details of off-shore companies on Aruba, commercial transactions with companies based in Russia, Nigeria and Senegal, bank drafts and deposits. According to Jiminez, the documents offered considerable scope for continued investigation. "On Aruba for instance. But that didn't happen ... They have problems over there. Their intelligence service is penetrated by political groups..." One of the Venezuelan banks the clan worked with, the Banco de la Construccion, has an off-shore subsidiary on Aruba: the Intercon Financial Bank, through which a lot of money was channelled. A Smugglers' Paradise The Intercon Financial Bank on Aruba is represented by the law-firm Croes & Wever. One of the partners is former Minister of Justice Hendrik Croes. The firm's trust-company Arulex was implicated in setting up the bank. "Yes, we are involved with that bank," says Croes. "We still handle all their legal affairs, but we don't know anything of their financial accounts." The Croes Family has been accused of ties with Cuntrera-Caruana. The Sicilian mafiosi payed for a trip of another brother, Rudy Croes (who succeeded Hendrik as Minister of Justice in a previous MEP government) as party secretary to a meeting of the Socialist International in Turkey. This has not been denied. Paolo Cuntrera visited the island regularly despite his expulsion in 1988. The government opposed his legal actions for re-admittance. But Hendrik Croes has to admit the procedures were not stainless. A blundering government lawyer, an official who signed a residence permit 'by mistake', meant that de facto Paolo Cuntrera was able to circulate freely on the island. ((Let's see..when did Paulus van der Sloot begin working for the government?)) According to Canadian police reports, in 1978, Pasquale Cuntrera owned the Holiday Inn Casino – although the registers indicated otherwise. "At the start of 1980s the Cuntrera's were often at the Holiday Inn casino," says a croupier. "In 1989 they were there again, although they were ostensibly thrown of the island." According to (DEA agent David) Lorino, "the names Cuntrera and Caruana were well known on the island." Now nobody on Aruba wants to know that these gentle and well mannered Sicilians ever existed. "Oh, but a lot of people knew them then," says Bianca de Mey, who set up the company Investeringen Tweehonderd en Tien, which was the holding for a nightclub and pizzeria for the Cuntreras. The company now has nothing to do with them any more, she adds. "Aruban traders built an extensive infrastructure in the Caribbean," one of their former employees explains “ a network of warehouses, shipping-company's, bank-accounts on Aruba, in the Panamanian free zone, in Miami. "In 1983 the bolivar the Venezuelan currency collapsed on account of the debt-crisis, and the bills could not be payed to the Arubans any more." Then it really started. The smuggling economy needed re-structuring. The whole infrastructure was turned around: now it was used for cocaine trafficking and money laundering.” The Arubans managed the logistics. They brought in the precursor chemicals necessary for the production of cocaine out the coca leaves; they bought the planes and ships to transport the merchandise; and last but not least, they laundered the proceeds through the accounts of their import-export firms in the Aruban Free Trade Zone, skimming a percentage for their services. Habibe is not the only one. The 1994 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report stated that "other Aruban families with connections to banks in Venezuela and to cocaine cartels in Colombia are strongly suspected of involvement in drug trafficking and money laundering." Aruba's Attorney General at the time, the Dutchman Jan Zwinkels, expressed his surprise over the allegations about the the Mafia's influence on the island. "It is all very vague. My impression is that people repeat the same unfounded story over and over again. I never spoke to a Italian judge. There never has been request for mutual legal assistance." In contrast, the Italians say that when they arrested the Cuntreras in 1992 they had enough evidence to convict them. "We had indications that they were interested in investments on Aruba. Other countries should take over here, we have informed them,"says Italian police-investigator Pansa. That did not happen (You really have to read the whole report to appreciate how deeply involved organized crime is in Aruban affairs and politics) http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/2004/03/26/marines.htm Dutch marines on drugs charges in Aruba (excerpt) Friday, March 26, 2004 AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands: In a scandal for the Dutch military, four marines have been arrested in Aruba on drugs charges after cocaine was seized in the suspects' houses and cars. According to a report by Expatica News, the public prosecutor's office in the Aruban capital Oranjestad has confirmed that the four men were arrested on 17 March, but a spokeswoman refused to reveal the quantity of drugs seized. http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/2004/07/16/military.htm Friday, July 16, 2004 (excerpt) AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands: According to Expatica, of the 1,000 Dutch naval personnel stationed in the Netherlands Antilles to combat the international drugs trade, 15 have been arrested so far this year for allegedly trafficking narcotics, it was revealed Thursday. Another 30 have been detained by the military police for a range of crimes, including serious assault, intimidation, vandalism and theft, newspaper Algemeen Dagblad reported. The Dutch Royal Navy confirmed to the newspaper that eight marines have been sent home this year from the Caribbean for drug possession or drug dealing. The Caribbean islands are considered transit points for drugs coming from South America destined for Europe and the US. http://www.casinowatch.org/crime/money_laundering.html Aruba plays a significant role as an offshore center for drug-related money laundering. Money laundering organizations are well established on Aruba and enjoy protection from considerable bank secrecy laws and a stable currency. The organizations use Aruba's offshore banking and incorporation systems, free-zone areas, and resort/casino complexes, to transfer and to launder drug proceeds. In 2000, the GOA issued several decrees on money laundering that included increased oversight of casinos and insurance companies. The Netherlands Antilles' large offshore financial sector, bank secrecy, casino/resort complexes, high volume of American and Dutch tourism, and stable currencies make the country conducive to money laundering. Trinidad and Tobago is not an important regional or offshore financial center. However, drug traffickers reportedly have laundered money using overvalued purchase prices, real estate, casinos, stockbrokers, insurance companies, and other nonfinancial establishments. Soruce: "The Drug Trade in the Caribbean: A Threat Assessment"/U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration http://www.publicintegrity.org/report.aspx?aid=355&sid=100 (excerpt) Tobacco Companies Linked to Criminal Organizations in Cigarette Smuggling Latin America Twenty miles off the northern coast of Venezuela lies a tiny, sunbaked island called Aruba. Like so many self-governing Caribbean islands that cling to the coast of the Americas, it has been a smugglers paradise since colonial times. For decades, it also has been a linchpin in an illegal tobacco trade that Colombian authorities claim comprised as much as 90 percent of cigarettes sent into Colombia. The chief purveyors were two powerful Aruba families by the names of Mansur and Harms. For more than 50 years, Philip Morris main distributor in Latin America was the Mansur Free Zone Trading Company, N.V. (The company's name changed to Glossco in 1999 after years of unwelcome scrutiny. President Clinton in 1996 publicly identified Aruba "as a major drug-transit country" and noted that "a substantial portion of the free-zones businesses in Aruba are owned and operated by members of the Mansur family, who have been indicted in the United States on charges of conspiracy to launder trafficking proceeds.") In August 1994, the United States indicted cousins Eric and Alex Mansur along with 52 others allegedly involved in a massive drug money-laundering enterprise. The investigation, dubbed Operation Golden Trash, targeted an alleged conspiracy that used narco dollars to purchase cigarettes, alcohol and household electronics, which were sold to individuals and businesses in Colombia. The proceeds would then flow to cocaine barons. Prior to 1997, the lawsuit states, the cigarettes were delivered from Philip Morris plant in Richmond, Va. After that year, Philip Morris changed its routing and first sent them to Belgium, where ownership was transferred to Weitnauer. From there they were shipped to Aruba or Panamanian free trade zones operated by the Mansurs and then into Colombia's special customs zone, Maicao, just across the border from Venezuela. http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/region/southamerica/ant040113.html Deep suspicion in the Kingdom (January 13, 2004) (excerpt) by Theo Tamis and Perro de Jong Relations between the Netherlands Antilles and the central Dutch government have taken another turn for the worse. Antillean Prime Minister Mirna Godett is upset about a meeting between visiting Dutch Justice Minister Jan Piet Hein Donner with Antillean justice officials. Ms. Godett says she'll sack anyone found to be spying for the Netherlands. The Netherlands Antilles, a largely autonomous part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, has been at loggerheads with the central government for quite some time. But relations have seldom been as frosty as they are now. One irritant has been the Hague´s determination to finally tackle rampant corruption, crime and poverty on the island, and put an end to the steady stream of drugs and disadvantaged youths pouring into the Netherlands. Footnote: Anthony Godett´s ideas and ambitions have set the Caribbean island group on a collision course with The Hague. The populist leader wants to get rid of all IMF obligations and has called for a separate status within the Dutch Kingdom for the main island Curacao. To make matters worse, he's called for English to be the island group's official language, and says the Netherlands should take its own responsibility for the drugs problems it faces, instead of blaming the Antilles. ((There it is again- the Aruban Two-Step: deny and shift the blame)) http://www.cfslr.ed.ac.uk/handouts/MoneyLaundering.htm I formulated a blueprint for the nations that offered the several factors that were essential: (A) Laws against money laundering and the actual enforcement of those laws. (B) A comprehensive list of countries could not be reproduced but it included these: Most of the Caribbean Basin-Antigua and Barbados, Dutch Antilles, Turks & Caicos, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Barbados, Tortola, and, San Andres. European destinations included these: France, Spain, Belgium, UK (only the off-shore havens such as Gurnsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man); Luxemburg, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, Switzerland, Andorra, and, Portugal. South America would include all of those places that allowed the military to be involved in the regulating of borders and airports such as: Honduras, Panama,Costa Rica, Uruguay, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Colombia. In the Far East: Hong Kong and Thailand. One of the great myths about the Caribbean would have to be the Cayman Islands. These were used and abused by most of the early money launderers and it may still be used for foolish simpletons that do not mind having their money confiscated or stolen. This is not to say that there are places that I used such as Aruba that would still receive good grades in their overall conduct but these would be limited as the residential or place of origin for the corporations that were formed. ((An excerpt from an article written by Humberto Aguilar, a former lawyer for organized crime in Miami, Florida, U.S.A. Note that he specifically mentions Aruba as a place with high marks but ineffective laws that truly prevent money laundering)) http://www.pbs.org/now/printable/transcript114_full_print.html (You have to read this whole article to appreciate it. The connection between Aruba, organized crime and American tobacco companies! Not to mention Kenneth DeLay) http://www.tni.org/drugs-docs/williams.htm Money Laundering Phil Williams IASOC Magazine, Vol. 10, No. 4, Summer 1997 (excerpt) Use of Trade and Free Trade Zones As the New York Times noted: "In the new schemes, cartel intermediaries typically contact companies in Colombia that import goods from the United States. The intermediaries offer to pay for the imported goods with dollars that go to the American exporters. In return, the importers pay intermediaries an equivalent amount inside Colombia. For participating in the scheme, the importers pay intermediaries slightly less than the true exchange rate". The difficulty for United States law enforcement is that the laundering operations are "cloaked within what appear to be legitimate businesses, with legitimate inventories, sales and customers". In other cases, goods are purchased within free trade zones such as those in Panama and Aruba and subsequently imported into the United States where they are sold at or below market prices. The loss on the goods cuts slightly into the profits but is a price worth paying for proceeds that appear to be completely legitimate. Such schemes could become even more important in the future. "The implementation of free trade agreements and regional compacts creating trading and economic zones which transcend national borders could increase the use of international trade as a mechanism for laundering the proceeds of criminal organizations. The impact of the liberalization of border and other customs controls, liberalized banking procedures and freedom of access within those zones creates additional potential risks for the future". The Exploitation of Offshore Banking One factor that has made it more difficult the prevent money laundering has been the development of the offshore banking sector. As Helmut Schmidt once observed, central banks "did not see that they were losing their grip over the over markets when they allowed commercial banks to establish offshore affiliates". If this situation arose in part through a lack of both foresight and oversight, however, once the process of deregulation had started, governments tended to embrace it as synonymous with enhanced competitiveness. The result was what Philip Cerny has described as a "competition in laxity". Competitiveness was deemed inconsistent with tight monitoring and control, and offshore banks and corporations attracted funds largely because they promised both anonymity and the possibility of tax avoidance, and in some cases, tax evasion. They continue to do so, with some offshore banks providing "gold credit cards" for their clients that debit their accounts but do not leave any record of their transactions in the United States. The Cayman Islands, the Netherlands Antilles, Aruba, and Cyprus are all examples of offshore banking havens that have been used or continue to be used by criminal organizations for laundering the proceeds from their illicit activities. Such centers offer attractive opportunities for the transfer and secretion of funds in places where they are relatively safe from identification and seizure by law enforcement. In some cases, offshore corporations are created simply to launder and hide money.