Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans (centre) with the military unit currently stationed in St. Maarten.
PHILIPSBURG--The Kingdom of the Netherlands has distanced itself from the recent United States (U.S.) military strikes in Venezuela and from the order issued by U.S. President Donald Trump to destroy vessels suspected of involvement in drug trafficking.
This does not affect the joint counter-narcotics operations carried out with the United States in the Caribbean region, Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans said on Tuesday during his visit to St. Maarten.
In an interview with “The Daily Herald”, Minister Brekelmans stressed that defence in the Caribbean remains focused on supporting the security, sovereignty, and resilience of the Kingdom’s Caribbean territories.
Following Brekelmans’ visit to Aruba on Monday, media reports falsely claimed that the Netherlands had decided to end its cooperation with the U.S. in drug interdiction missions. On Tuesday, the Minister’s communication officers spent hours working with news outlets in the Netherlands and across the islands to correct the misinformation, which originated from a press agency report.
Asked to clarify, Brekelmans said he had been misquoted. “What I said was that in the past we have conducted numerous operations with the Americans aimed at intercepting drugs at sea, arresting suspects, and bringing them to justice. However, President Trump issued an order for a U.S. national operation, Southern Spear, which is aimed at destroying manned vessels at sea. The Netherlands is not involved in that.”
The United States Department of Defence describes the operation as part of its effort to “detect, disrupt, and degrade transnational criminal and illicit maritime networks,” an initiative framed by the Trump administration as both counter-drug and counter-narco terrorism. While the Netherlands distances itself from Operation Southern Spear, cooperation with the U.S. in joint Caribbean counter-narcotics missions continues as usual. “We continue to work with the Americans and discuss, at all levels, what they are doing in the region, including regarding drug trafficking,” Brekelmans said.
Drug busts
Dutch and U.S. forces have intercepted significant amounts of drugs in the Caribbean in recent years, highlighting the ongoing challenge of maritime narcotics trafficking in the region. The Netherlands’ naval units seized nearly 16,000 kilogrammes of drugs in 2024 alone, including cocaine and marijuana, often in coordination with U.S. authorities. Other years have seen totals ranging from 13,000 to 35,000 kilogrammes, demonstrating the scale of Dutch counter-narcotics efforts in the Caribbean.
The U.S. Coast Guard reported similar results, intercepting close to 16,000 kilogrammes of illicit drugs in the Caribbean in 2024, including more than 11,000 kilogrammes of cocaine. Many of these operations are carried out through joint missions and under the broader umbrella of the Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF South), which coordinates efforts between the U.S., Dutch, and other regional partners to combat drug trafficking and related criminal networks.
While exact combined totals are not publicly released, multi-national reports suggest that the annual haul of cocaine and marijuana in the Caribbean runs into hundreds of thousands of kilogrammes when accounting for all participating nations. These operations remain a critical part of regional security, ensuring the Kingdom of the Netherlands’ Caribbean territories and other island nations are protected from the destabilising effects of illicit drug trafficking.
Military deployment
The Kingdom has drawn a clear line between joint counter-drug operations and what Brekelmans calls national campaigns of the United States, referring to orders issued by US President Trump.
The military strikes in Venezuela were part of a secret operation, Brekelmans said. “We had no knowledge of plans to capture Venezuelan President Maduro and his wife. This was top secret.”
Defence continuously monitors overall developments, always asking: what does this mean for the islands of the Kingdom? “At no point has there been any threat from Venezuela to the islands,” Brekelmans concluded. “However, there can be effects on airspace, as we have now seen. Should a scenario occur – which is unlikely – in which airspace is closed for an extended period, Defence can provide support.”
Currently, the Dutch military has around 1,000 personnel stationed in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. Both the supply ship “Hr.Ms. Groningen” and the station ship “Zr.Ms. Pelikaan” are present in the region and can be deployed as needed, Brekelmans explained. “There is currently no indication that such deployment is necessary.”
Communication with Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina is excellent, Brekelmans added. “In The Hague, it has been decided that Caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister David van Weel is the main contact for the prime ministers of St. Maarten, Curaçao, and Aruba, as well as the Lieutenant Governor of Bonaire. They maintain regular phone contact. There is also close coordination with Commander Walter Hansen, Commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy in the Caribbean, who is also Director of the Coast Guard.”
The Netherlands has additional troops and transport units ready to provide assistance in the Caribbean. “If tensions rise, these units can be deployed within two or three days from the Netherlands,” Brekelmans explained. “Think of transport aircraft and units that can provide logistical and supply support.”
While Defence continues to closely monitor developments, troops in St. Maarten remain ready to provide local assistance, Brekelmans said. “In the two weeks prior to Christmas, military personnel on St. Maarten supported the police in street patrols. This request came from the St. Maarten Police Force KPSM. Should a situation arise again that requires local support, we will immediately consider and respond to such a request.”
