Seriously, I always wondered why there was a DEA agent on the ground in Aruba when events in the Natalee Holloway disappearance first began to unfold. Guess now I know.
The US Government is not as dismissive as Mr Eman. Within three years Aruba rose from a 'medium risk' to a 'high risk' country in the State Department's annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report. The island is used as a base for bulk transhipment of cocaine to the US and Europe, through its Free Trade Zone. Off-shore corporate banking facilities, the casino/resort complexes, high volume tourism, and a stable currency all make Aruba attractive to money laundering organizations. Eman considers these reports as too negative and suggests that Aruba is in good company since ""the US and Holland rank number one on the list as well"."
The US is concerned about credible reports that some members of the Aruban government met regularly with individuals associated with drug trafficking and money laundering syndicates. In spite of, or perhaps because of, the denials by Aruba officials, the US remains convinced that entrenched money laundering organizations direct large cash deposits into land development and other construction projects on the island. (3) The Netherlands is equally worried. ""I think we are going to loose it on Aruba"," Arthur Docters van Leeuwen, the Dutch Attorney General, said about the counter-narcotics efforts on the island. Aruba is in the hands of some powerful families and Holland can't do anything about it, due to constitutional restraints.
Funny...at one moment Holland, from forensic tests to legal procedures to military assistance, is responsible for delays and the next they can't be responsible for anything because of constitutional restraints.
From all that I've read though, it would make perfect sense that Aruba looked to dirty money to fund their independent pursuits.