Curacao

The Netherlands remembered the victims of the Second World War with commemorations across the country on Saturday. King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and Prime Minister Mark Rutte attended the National Commemoration in Amsterdam on Saturday evening. Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema stressed that the the lack of freedom during the war must be passed on so that it can be remembered "as if the war were yesterday. Even if no one remembers what it is like to live in an occupied country", Het Parool reports. 

The parliament of Curacao is angry at Dutch Minister Stef Blok of Foreign Affairs for announcing that the island will become a hub for humanitarian aid to Venezuela. The parliamentarians believe that the Minister put the island in a difficult position by making the announcement before Curacao's Prime Minister Eugene Rhuggenaath could explain his plan to the population.

Aruba is struggling to shelter thousands of asylum seekers from Venezuela, fleeing their country to escape poverty and political chaos. The island, which forms part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, already received more asylum applications than it can handle, ANP reports.

A Dutch soldier was arrested at a night club on Curacao on Saturday night. He was caught with cocaine in his possession. The 24-year-old man was transferred to the Koninklijke Marechaussee, a policing force that works as part of the Dutch military, ANP reports.

The soldier in question worked as a sailor on the ship Zr. MS. Zeeland. The ship arrived in Curacao last week to combat drug trafficking at sea.

The Ministry of Defense has a zero tolerance policy on hard drugs. Soldiers caught with hard drugs face immediate dismissal. 

Someone stole a large amount of cocaine from a police lockup in Curacao. The drugs had previously been confiscated by the police. The theft from the police terrain was discovered on Sunday morning at around 9:00 a.m., NOS reports.

The perpetrators forced two large metal doors to get to the drugs. Exactly how much cocaine was stolen, the Public Prosecutor on Curacao would not to say to NOS.

Later on Sunday a burning truck was found on the island. The police believe it may have been used in the robbery. 

The government of Curacao released a statement distancing itself from statements Minister Stef Blok of Foreign Affairs made about multicultural societies. The island's government "deeply regrets" the statements, because as foreign minister Blok also speaks on behalf of the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. The Surinamese government would like Blok to apologize for his statements.

Navy corporal Iris Homan from Hengelo was found dead in a swimming pool on the island of Curacao on May 21st. Her husband Bart D., also a corporal in the Dutch navy, was arrested. D. is not suspected off murder or manslaughter, "but of a certain negligence that led to her death", a spokesperson for the Public Prosecutor on the island said to De Stentor.

A crew member of TUIfly was arrested at Schiphol Airport on Saturday on suspicion of drug trafficking from Curacao. The Koninklijke Marechaussee confirmed that someone was arrested, but would give no further details, the Telegraaf reports.

The Koninklijke Marechaussee is a policing force that works as part of the Dutch military and is responsible for border control and airport security. "The investigation is ongoing", is all that a spokesperson would say to the Telegraaf. 

The population of Curaçao was forced to begin stockpiling food since neighboring country Venezuela announced a trade boycott with the Dutch Caribbean island on Friday. The trade ban also covered Aruba and Bonaire, all three of which rely heavily on the South American country's fruits and vegetables.

Dutch navy ship Zr. MS. Zeeland intercepted a drug transport of 600 kilograms of cocaine on the Caribbean ocean on Sunday evening. To stop the traffickers, the ship's helicopter had to shoot out the outside motor of the speedboat the smugglers were using, ANP reports.

Three people were arrested. They've been transferred to the authorities on Curacao.

King Willem-Alexander will visit Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius and Saba on Monday to see the aftermath of Hurricane Irma with his own eyes, Minister Ronald Plasterk of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations said on Curacao on Sunday afternoon, ANP reports.

Plasterk spoke with the press after visiting patients at the Sint Elisabeth Hospital, who were flown to Curacao after the hurricane to get medical treatment. Before that he and the King visited the meteorological service in Curacao and the Parera naval center.