WILLEMSTAD - Starting next year, the Caribbean Coast Guard will take significant steps towards 24/7 operations. This expansion marks the strengthening of the Coast Guard as a key player in the judicial chain of the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. The Year Plan 2024 of the Coast Guard was recently approved by the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom.
This plan indicates, among other things, that the Coast Guard will transform into an organization focusing on Intelligence Management. "The Coast Guard in the Caribbean plays a crucial role in disaster management and fulfills important investigative and supervisory tasks. There will be more personnel, and efforts are underway to replace many of the ships used at sea," said Minister of Defense Ollongren.
The transition to 24/7 operations is driven by various factors, including the crisis in Venezuela and the drastic increase in international drug trafficking and human trafficking. Venezuela has been facing a political, social, and economic-financial crisis for years. The question remains whether there will be a change after the 2024 elections. So far, Maduro's regime remains firmly in power. A positive development in 2023 was the reopening of borders, bringing cautious recovery of goods and passenger traffic.