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last updated:10/17/03
Netherlands Antilles
Sales | Bases and Other Presences | Overview

Sales
Program 1996 actual 1997 actual 1998 actual 1999 actual 2000 actual 2001 actual 2002 estimate 2003 estimate
Direct Commercial Sales
Sales from U.S. companies licensed by the U.S. government		 $1,353,602 (Licenses) $135,766 (Licenses) $1,640,513 (Licenses) $237,053 (Licenses)        
$2,000 (Deliveries as of September 1996) $899,046 (Deliveries as of September 1997) $255,940 (Deliveries as of September 1998) $2,000 (Deliveries as of September 1999) $17,000 (Deliveries as of January 2001) $1,000 (Deliveries as of January 2002) $281,000 (Expected deliveries) $333,000 (Expected deliveries)

 

Bases and Other Presences
Overview
Snapshot
Population: 207,827 (1999)
Land area: 370.7 sq. mi.
GDP p/c: $11,500 (1997)
Security forces: Defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

The Netherlands Antilles are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with full autonomy over their internal affairs. The islands occasionally buy U.S. weapons and equipment through the Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) program.

By agreement with the Dutch government, U.S. counternarcotics aircraft have been using airfields in Curaçao, one of the component islands of the Netherlands Antilles, and nearby Aruba since April 1999. Under this "Forward Operating Location" (FOL) arrangement, U.S. aircraft on counter-drug surveillance, detection and monitoring missions have a site from which to take off and land following the May 1999 closure of Howard Air Force Base in Panama.

Defense Department and Customs Service aircraft have been operating at Curaçao’s Hato International Airport and Aruba’s Reina Beatrix International Airport since April 1999. The Curaçao section of this Caribbean FOL, Gen. Charles Wilhelm of the U.S. Southern Command told a Senate subcommittee, “is expected to consist of seven to nine aircraft, 12 to 15 permanently assigned staff personnel and as many as 200-230 temporarily deployed operations and maintenance personnel.”1 The presence in Aruba will be smaller.

The current FOL presence is governed by a short-term interim accord with the Dutch government. U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Peter Romero testified before a House committee in September 1999 that the United States is "in the final rounds of negotiations" with the Netherlands for a long-term, "ten-year-plus" agreement.2

Sources

  • International Narcotics Control 1996-2004: United States, Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 1998-2004 Budget Congressional Presentation (Washington: Department of State: March 1997, 98, 99, 00, April 01, 02, June 03,) <http://www.state.gov/g/inl/rls/rpt/cbj/fy2004/>
  • United States, Department of State, Report to Congress on Plan Colombia and Related Programs (Washington: Department of State, July 2000) <http://ciponline.org/colombia/080102.htm>.
  • United States, White House, Office of Management and Budget, 2003 Supplemental Appropriations Request to Congress (Washington: White House, March 25, 2003) <http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/amendments/supplemental_3_25_03.pdf>.
  • Foreign Military Financing 1996-2004: United States, Department of State, Office of Resources, Plans and Policy, Congressional Presentation for Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 1998-2004 (Washington: March 1997, 98, 99, 00, April 2001, 02, Feb. 2003) <http://www.state.gov/m/rm/rls/cbj/2004/>.
  • United States, General Accounting Office, "Drug Control: U.S. Counternarcotics Efforts in Colombia Face Continuing Challenges," GAO/NSIAD-98-60 (Washington: GAO, February 12, 1998) <http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/useftp.cgi?IPaddress=waisback.access.gpo.gov&filename=ns98060.txt&directory=/diskb/wais/data/gao>.
  • United States, Department of Defense, Department of State, Foreign Military Training and DoD Engagement Activities of Interest in Fiscal Years 1999 and 2000, 2000 and 2001: A Report to Congress (Washington: March 2000, 2001) <http://www.state.gov/t/pm/rls/rpt/2001/fmtrpt/>.
  • International Military Education and Training 1996-2004: United States, Department of State, Office of Resources, Plans and Policy, Congressional Presentation for Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 1998, 99, 00, 01, 02, 03, 04 (Washington DC, Department of State: March 1997-Feb 2003) <http://www.state.gov/m/rm/rls/cbj/2004/>.
  • "Section 1004" 1997: H. Allen Holmes, coordinator for drug enforcement policy and support, United States Department of Defense, letter in response to congressional inquiry, Jan. 23, 1998.
  • "Section 1004" 1998: Ana Maria Salazar, deputy assistant secretary of defense for drug enforcement policy and support, United States Department of Defense, letter in response to congressional inquiry, Mar. 19, 1999.
  • "Section 1004" 1999: United States, Department of Defense, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Drug Enforcement Policy and Support, correspondence with authors, September 21, 2000.
  • "Section 1004" 2000: United States, Department of Defense, Report on Department of Defense Expenditures To Support Foreign Counterdrug Activities, Washington, December 29, 2000.
  • United States Congress, Conference Report 106-701 on H.R. 3908, June 29, 2000 <http://ciponline.org/colombia/confrept.pdf>.
  • "Section 1004" 2001: United States, Department of Defense, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict, Report required by the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (P.L. 106-398), (Washington: April 18, 2002).
  • United States, Department of Defense, "DoD Andean Initiative FY02 Colombia", Washington, Document obtained September 19, 2001.
  • "Section 1004" Colombia 2002: Congressional Research Service, Colombia: Summary and Tables on U.S. Assistance, FY1989-FY2003, (Washington: CRS, May 3, 2002): 4 <http://ciponline.org/colombia/10929.pdf>.
  • "Section 1004" Colombia 2003: United States, Department of State, A Report to Congress on United States Policy Towards Colombia and Other Related Issues, Washington, December 3, 2002: 14 <http://ciponline.org/colombia/02120302.htm>.
  • United States, White House, Office of Management and Budget, 2003 Supplemental Appropriations Request to Congress (Washington: White House, March 25, 2003) <http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/amendments/supplemental_3_25_03.pdf>.

  • Emergency Drawdowns 1997: United States, Department of State, "Summary Sheet," fax document, September 16, 1997.

  • Emergency Drawdowns 1998: United States, Department of State, "Memorandum of Justification for use of Section 506(a)(2) special authority to draw down articles, services, and military education and training," September 15, 1998.
  • Emergency Drawdowns 1999: United States, White House, "Draft Working Document: FY99 506(a)(2) Drawdown List Requested Items," Memorandum, September 30, 1999.
  • "Section 1033" 1998-2002: same as "Section 1004" above.

  • Anti-Terrorism Assistance Colombia 2002: United States, White House, Office of Management and Budget, "Technical Language" for supplemental appropriations request (Washington: March 21, 2002): 80 <http://ciponline.org/colombia/02supp_technicallanguage.pdf>.

  • Excess Defense Articles: United States, Department of Defense, Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Excess Defense Articles online database <http://www.dsca.osd.mil/home/excess_defense_articles_bbs.htm>.
  • ONDCP Discretionary Funds: United States, Executive Office of the President, Office of National Drug Control Policy, memo in response to congressional inquiry, February 1998.
  • Trainees 1998-2002: United States, Department of State, Department of Defense, Foreign Military Training and DoD Engagement Activities of Interest in Fiscal Years 1998 and 1999, 1999 and 2000, 2000 and 2001, 2001 and 2002, 2002 and 2003 (Washington: 1999-2003)
  • Economic and Social Assistance 1996-2000: United States, Department of State, Office of Resources, Plans and Policy, Congressional Presentation for Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 1998-2000 (Washington: March 1997-April 2001) http://www.state.gov/m/rm/rls/cbj/2002/.


  • Economic and Social Assistance 2001-4: United States, Department of State, FY 2004 Congressional Budget Justification for Foreign Operations (Washington, DC: Department of State, April 15, 2002, February 2003) <http://www.state.gov/m/rm/rls/cbj/2004/>.


  • United States, U.S. Agency for International Development, FY 2002 Congressional Budget Justification (Washington, USAID, 2001) <http://www.usaid.gov/pubs/cbj2002/cbj2002_table02a.html>.

 

 

 

 

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