WASHINGTON - The Minister of Justice Shalton Hato traveled to Washington with a delegation to meet with officials from the US State Department and Justice Department. Among other things, the minister will talk about the large sum of money that Curaçao must receive.
During his visit, Hato will hold talks with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the authors of the TIP report, and departments of NGOs that have an active department in Curaçao.
The conversation will be about the prevention of human trafficking. “The Ministry of Justice regrets that the island has been downgraded to level Tier 3 in the TIP report. “This means that Curaçao does not meet the aforementioned issues with regard to human trafficking,” says the minister.
Hato disagrees with the way in which the information in the report was obtained. In addition, there was no opportunity to comment.
Furthermore, negotiations will be held about the frozen assets that Curaçao should receive. This would involve an amount of thirty million dollars intended for the crime fund.
“The money will be used for rehabilitation programs in prison and for equipment for the Curaçao Police Force,” said Hato. The bank balances were frozen by the Public Prosecution Service with the permission of the examining magistrate in the US.