Combating Global Security Threats From Non-State, Criminal Actors

Non-state actors are of growing concern to the national and economic security interests of both the U.S. and the Netherlands. To combat threats like drug trafficking, piracy and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and to bring criminals to justice, Dutch military and law enforcement agencies integrate our efforts with our American counterparts across multiple agencies and fields.

Together, we are countering the Caribbean and Latin American drug trade, fighting piracy off the coast of Somalia and preventing the smuggling of sensitive technologies and knowledge used to produce weapons of mass destruction.

• In 2000, the United States and the Netherlands signed an agreement to establish a Forward Operating Location (FOL) on Curaçao and Aruba, two islands within the Carribean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, enabling the United States to carry out surveillance and interdiction activities targeting drug traffickers.  On November 2, 2010, the FOL agreement will be renewed for another five years.
• The Dutch Navy, Army and Marines have contingents in the Caribbean, and the Dutch commander in the region reports directly to the U.S. Joint Interagency Task Force South in Key West on drug trafficking issues, allowing for seamless, effective collaboration with U.S. forces.
• The Coast Guard for the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba – a joint force composed of representatives from all the countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands – works closely with the national police, customs and judicial authorities of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba to combat maritime trafficking of drugs, goods, persons and money in the Caribbean.
• The Netherlands is working to stop drug production and trafficking in Central Asia and Afghanistan by creating alternative sources of income for farmers who depend on cultivating drugs for their economic survival. By introducing other economic opportunities for these farmers, we hope to address the problem at its source.
• The Netherlands is an active participant in the DEA’s El Paso Intelligence Center, which collects and disseminates information relating to drug and weapon smuggling and human trafficking.
• Communities in the Netherlands and United States both benefit from the economic value of the global shipping industry. The Dutch actively contribute to the EU’s ATALANTA and NATO’s Ocean Shield naval combat missions off the coast of Somalia, which protects commercial vessels from piracy.
• The Netherlands is committed to the highest standards of export controls, including prevention of smuggling of sensitive technologies and sharing of knowledge that could be used to produce weapons of mass destruction. We participated in the April 2010 Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C., and also are an active member in the Proliferation Security Initiative and the Global Initiative to Combat Terrorism.