WILLEMSTAD – The Netherlands is transferring €4.5 million to Dutch Customs to support local border and enforcement services in Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten, according to the proposed 2027 Kingdom Relations budget.
The funding forms part of continued Dutch support for combating cross-border and organized crime in the Caribbean countries of the Kingdom.
The budget does not specify how the €4.5 million will be divided among Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten. It states that the money is intended for local border and enforcement services on the three islands.
Curaçao and the other Caribbean countries receive additional assistance through the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee.
Under the 2021 Protocol on Strengthening Border Control, 71 full-time Marechaussee positions are available to assist local services in fighting transnational organized and undermining crime.
Their duties include border surveillance, policing at airports and maritime borders, and combating drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and migration-related crime. Dutch personnel operate under the competent authority of the country in which they are deployed.
The additional funding comes as the Netherlands reviews the future of its border cooperation with Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten.
An evaluation of the protocols covering the Marechaussee flex pool and strengthened border control was completed in 2026. Based on the findings, the Dutch government is discussing continuation and, where considered necessary, tightening the cooperation with the Caribbean countries.
The Dutch government argues that the geographic position of Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten makes the countries particularly vulnerable to organized and undermining crime.
The budget also identifies geopolitical developments and migration as factors that could affect both security and economic stability in the islands.