Curaçao is Paradise
- mpgoede
- 3 days ago
- 1 min read
Curaçao is Paradise
19 January 2026
Curaçao has increasingly acquired the image of being the ultimate holiday island. But appearances can be deceiving, because those who look more closely will see another Curaçao.
An island that serves as a hub for criminal money flows within an international network of underground banking and money laundering (Curacao.nu, 2026). This emerges from rulings by the District Court of Overijssel, which sentenced several suspects to long prison terms for large-scale money laundering and participation in a criminal organization.
In addition, Antilliaans Dagblad refers to Curaçao as a link in cocaine smuggling to the Netherlands. A report by the Research and Data Centre of the Ministry of Justice (WODC) identifies the island as an air-transport transit and departure point (Antilliaans Dagblad, 16 January 2026).
This creates the image of an island through which large amounts of drugs and illicit money flow and circulate. That money has to end up somewhere and undoubtedly finds its way into the real estate market. This partly explains the strong growth in this sector, at the expense of young people and of what once was the middle class – and those below it.
It is important that we continue to see the island in its full reality, not only its paradisiacal surface.
Miguel Goede
References
Curacao.nu. (2026). Curaçao fungeerde als schakel in internationaal witwasnetwerk. https://www.curacao.nu/nieuws/veiligheid-openbare-orde/84516/curacao-fungeerde-als-schakel-in-internationaal-witwasnetwerk
Antilliaans Dagblad. (2026, 16 januari). Curaçao schakel cokesmokkel NL; Rapport WODC: Via luchtvaart doorvoer- en vertrekpunt.
Comments