The union representing Coast Guard personnel (NAPB) has reported that the Dutch Coast Guard in the Caribbean part of the kingdom of the Netherlands no longer patrols the territorial waters around Bonaire and Curacao. This is the result of increasing violence against Coast Guard personnel.

According to a spokesman for the Coast Guard, personnel still perform rescue operations. The coast is still being monitored, but from the air from the Hato support center at the Curacao Airport. Curacao is a popular island for drug transit. According to the NAPB, members are regularly intimidated. In a statement, the NAPB said that neither the government nor the Coast Guard itself can guarantee the safety of its members. A statement from the military police said that they are investigating the abuse in Curacao.

Meanwhile, a working group will present a proposal on how to deal with the security of the Coast Guard personnel in Curacao, according to the minister of justice, Nelson Navarro. The working group, consisting of a representative of the unions NAPB and ABVO, will examine this issue this week and will submit their findings and proposal to the minister.

For full article, see http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/headline-Dutch-Coast-Guard-suspends-Curacao-and-Bonaire-patrols-over-violence-22638.html and http://www.nltimes.nl/2014/09/02/coast-guard-suspends-curacao-patrols-violence/