WILLEMSTAD – Following recent developments and public reporting concerning the current location of Eric’s ATV Adventures, the company says it considers it necessary to provide factual context and clearly explain its position. The company states that it is limiting its response to the business aspects of the case and will not address what it describes as particularly hurtful public statements about the person and character of founder Eric Raphaëla.
Raphaëla, who built the company from the ground up, is currently hospitalized and recovering, and is therefore unable to respond publicly himself. The company expressed gratitude for the many messages of support and well-wishes received from the community and said it will try to represent his position as carefully as possible.
Background and position of the company
Eric’s ATV Adventures has operated continuously from its current location for more than twenty years. According to the company, it has never deliberately chosen a path of negligence or disregard for rules. On the contrary, it says it has repeatedly and demonstrably tried to formally acquire the land through the appropriate government channels.
Over the years, the company states, the government never indicated that this would not be possible or that the business would have to vacate the site. There was no clear rejection, no defined deadline, and no formal decision that would allow the company to plan accordingly—only years of waiting.
As early as 2003, Raphaëla was actively seeking a leasehold site through the government. The company was established in 2004 and, by 2006, urgently needed a permanent location. At the time, Domeinbeheer offered two sites: one in Piscadera and the current location. Eric’s ATV Adventures chose the latter after being informed that the necessary documentation would be arranged and that any future road development had already been accounted for. According to the company, the proposed road alignment would follow the existing dirt road along the property, as described in the Seru Spañó Master Plan. The company says these assurances, supported by drawings and file numbers, gave sufficient confidence to continue investing in and expanding the business.
Despite repeated requests—including a formal written request in 2012 to Domeinbeheer and then-Minister of Traffic, Transport and Spatial Planning (VVRP), Earl Balborda Cooper—the process was never finalized. Earlier requests submitted in 2007 also reportedly went unanswered. At no point, the company says, was it explicitly told that it would have to leave the location.
From administrative file to eviction
In March 2025, a civil lawsuit was filed against Eric Raphaëla and the company by project developer Stonefield, together with the Government of Curaçao. On April 30, 2025, the company received a government decision ordering the removal of buildings on the site, on the grounds that they were allegedly unauthorized.
Eric’s ATV Adventures filed a timely objection to that decision. However, due to what the company describes as contradictory communication regarding deadlines, the objection and subsequent procedures were declared inadmissible. As a result, the substantive arguments of the company were never assessed by a judge.
In December 2025, after an enforcement team began eviction activities and water and electricity were disconnected, the company initiated summary proceedings. In that case, Eric’s ATV Adventures requested additional time to carry out a relocation and evacuation in a careful, safe, and responsible manner, with respect for people, equipment, and business continuity.
Talks with ministers and possible solutions
During a meeting with the Minister of VVRP and Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas on December 5, 2025, and in subsequent communications, several potential solutions were discussed. According to the company, these options would only be workable in combination with the allocation of a new site in the name of Eric’s ATV Adventures and subject to additional conditions. To date, the company says it has received no written confirmation of any agreement.
The options discussed included temporary use of a location offered by a project developer, rental of one or two units in future developments at Bon Biní Resort or Marie Pampoen—both without space for garages or ATV storage—and, possibly in combination with these, the allocation of an alternative site elsewhere in Curaçao under the company’s name.
Public statements and messaging
Eric’s ATV Adventures states that it has not made public statements on social media regarding the dispute. During a live broadcast, WhatsApp messages were shown by the Minister of VVRP to the press and staff. According to the company, these messages were presented without full context, as the discussions involved multiple messages and conditions. The company also says the options were not accurately represented and that the possibility of an alternative site was omitted entirely.
The company emphasizes that the option of temporary relocation was only ever considered viable in combination with securing a new site in its own name and under additional conditions. It says no final choice was made, partly because nothing was put in writing and because further phone discussions took place with the project developer afterward.
Current status
Eric’s ATV Adventures is currently awaiting the court’s ruling in the ongoing summary proceedings. The primary objective, the company says, is to obtain sufficient time to carry out a careful relocation and re-establishment of the business.
In addition, the civil case initiated earlier in 2025 by the project developer together with the Government of Curaçao remains ongoing.
The company stresses that it is not seeking preferential treatment, but rather a reasonable timeframe and a solution that recognizes more than twenty years of local entrepreneurship, employment, and contribution to Curaçao’s tourism product. Eric’s ATV Adventures says it remains willing to engage constructively, but cannot operate on the basis of uncertainty or unwritten promises.
“To those who ask why Eric’s ATV Adventures does not simply give up,” the statement concludes, “this is not only about a location. This is about justice.”
