WILLEMSTAD - Photojournalist Humbert “Umpi” Welvaart was released on Monday from the Sentro di Detenshon i Korekshon Kòrsou (SDKK) under a conditional early release arrangement that includes electronic monitoring and supervision by the probation service. The exact time of his release had not yet been confirmed at the time of publication.
According to local media, Welvaart is not permitted to carry out media-related work during the initial phase of his release. He has indicated that he intends to use this period primarily to focus on his family. During his detention, Welvaart completed several training courses at SDKK and actively participated in the facility’s agricultural program, an initiative he says he plans to continue supporting after his release.
Earlier this year, Welvaart was definitively sentenced to 48 months in prison by the Supreme Court of the Netherlands for his involvement in the so-called El Capo drug trafficking case and for influencing a witness. The case centered on the interception of nearly 16 kilograms of cocaine aboard the vessel El Capo on August 22, 2019. Courts found that Welvaart had made both material and intellectual contributions to the smuggling operation.
Before his conviction, Welvaart was widely known as one of Curaçao’s most prominent press photographers, often recognized by his slogan “100 stap riba tur so brá.”