THE HAGUE – The Netherlands is discussing the continuation and possible tightening of border-control cooperation with Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten following the completion of an evaluation of the protocol under which Dutch military police and customs officers assist the three Caribbean countries.
The Dutch government says in its latest Kingdom Relations budget that discussions with the countries are taking place “on the basis of the evaluation of the protocol for strengthening border control and the accompanying recommendations.”
The talks concern both continuation of the cooperation and, “where necessary,” strengthening the existing arrangements. However, the budget does not disclose which parts of the current system the evaluation found should be changed or tightened.
The evaluation of both the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee flex pool and the Protocol for Strengthening Border Control is listed as completed in 2026. A further evaluation of the border-control protocol is scheduled for 2029.
Earlier this year, Dutch research firm DSP-groep confirmed that it had conducted two related studies on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. One examined the Marechaussee flex pool, while the other evaluated the strengthened border-control protocol.
The researchers examined documents and interviewed organizations involved in border control in Curaçao, Aruba, Sint Maarten and the Netherlands. DSP-groep said its findings had been incorporated into separate evaluation reports.
Those reports have not yet been made publicly available, leaving it unclear what conclusions were reached specifically about Curaçao.
The border-control protocol was concluded in 2021 as part of the agreements that followed Dutch financial assistance to the Caribbean countries during the COVID-19 crisis and the introduction of the Landspakketten reform programs.
Its objective is to strengthen efforts against cross-border and organized crime, including drug and weapons smuggling, illegal financial flows, human trafficking and migrant smuggling.
Despite the Dutch assistance, Curaçao remains responsible for its own border control. Dutch personnel deployed under the arrangement operate under the authority of the competent local authorities.
The original protocol stipulated that Curaçao, Aruba, Sint Maarten and the Netherlands should decide before July 1, 2026 whether to extend the arrangement for another three years. The agreement also explicitly allows the results of the evaluation to be used as a basis for changing the existing arrangements.
Last year’s Dutch budget indicated that the evaluation would first be completed, followed by a decision on an extension in 2026.
The Netherlands had previously reported that evaluations of individual implementation plans revealed several difficulties within the border-control services. These included personnel shortages, insufficient numbers of specialized employees and high workloads.
The scale of Dutch support is substantial.
Under the Protocol for Strengthening Border Control, the Netherlands makes 71 full-time Royal Netherlands Marechaussee positions available collectively to Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten. Up to 16 Dutch customs officers can also be deployed.
For 2027, the Dutch budget allocates more than €31 million for border-control support through the Ministry of Defence. More than €5 million is additionally budgeted for assistance from Dutch Customs. These amounts cover the three autonomous Caribbean countries collectively and are not broken down by country.
Despite those allocations, several important questions remain unanswered.
The budget does not clearly state whether the four countries formally agreed before the July 1 deadline to extend the protocol. It also does not reveal which recommendations from the completed evaluation apply specifically to Curaçao or what the Dutch government means when it says cooperation may need to be “tightened.”
The evaluation could therefore become important for the future organization of Curaçao’s border security, particularly if the Netherlands seeks new conditions, additional measures or changes to how Dutch personnel support local authorities.
For Curaçao, the central questions are now what weaknesses or improvements the evaluators identified in the island’s border-control system and what new agreements the Netherlands wants Curaçao to make as a result.