ORANJESTAD – Starting this year, the Netherlands, Aruba, Curacao and St. Maarten will exchange DNA of criminals and victims. The justice ministers of the four countries made this promise after the semi-annual Judicial Four Party Consultation in Aruba, Sharina Henriquez reports on Caribisch Netwerk.
Their message: working together is more important than ever in the fight against crime. With the tight budgets there is never enough money for justice. “Let us be honest, the boss of a Colombian cartel has more money than the budgets of Aruba, Curacao and St. Maarten combined,” Curacao’s Justice Minister Nelson Navarro says.
Criminals also work increasingly on an international level, adds his Aruban colleague Arthur Dowers. For this reason the exchange of information remains a priority. Apart from DNA, the countries are also going to share information about inmates and suspects. “This way everyone knows who is where,” the Dutch Justice Minister Ard van der Steur says. A couple of years ago it became clear that criminals on the run could live quietly in the Caribbean.
There are also plans to take away more money from criminals. The Kingdom intends to work together in this field with the United States and Latin-America. A lot of criminal money flows though financial systems in America.
PHOTO: From left: Justice Ministers Richard Gibson, Ard van der Steur, Arthur Dowers and Nelson Navarro. Photo Caribisch Netwerk / Sharina Henriquez
Source Today Newspaper
Countries share DNA of criminals and suspects
