Posted on 06/16/2005 9:43:44 AM PDT by stlnative
Don't think I have seen this posted before. This is incredible and shows what the family has been going through with the keystone cops down there.
http://www.bwcitypaper.com/
Read the article "Naked Birmingham" about halfway down the page.
Bama
Text Of A Letter From The President To The Chairmen And Ranking Members Of The House Committees On Appropriations And International Relations And The Senate Committees On Appropriations And Foreign Relations
December 2, 1996
Dear Mr. Chairman: (Dear Ranking Member:)
In accordance with the provisions of section 490(h) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (Faa), as amended, I have determined that the following countries are major illicit drug-producing or drug-transit countries: Afghanistan, Aruba, The Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, China, Columbia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Jamaica, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Venezuela, and Vietnam. These countries have been selected on the basis of information from the March 1, 1996, International Narcotics Control Strategy Report and from other United States Government sources.
This year, I have added Aruba to the list of major illicit drug-transit countries. At the same time, I am adding the Netherlands Antilles to those countries that we monitor as potentially significant drug-transit countries. These already include Cuba, Turkey, the Balkan Route countries and the former poppy-growing countries of Central Asia.
Aruba. In the past 2 years, there has been a major shift in drug trafficking patterns, as enforcement activities in Mexico, the western Caribbean, and The Bahamas have pushed trafficking routes eastward. Taking advantage of the limited enforcement capabilities of most eastern Caribbean countries, Colombian drug syndicates have been routing U.S.-bound cocaine and heroin through the region. Consequently, countries that in the past have been peripheral to the drug trade have now taken on major roles that significantly affect the United States. While all of the eastern Caribbean is vulnerable to exploitation by traffickers, we have identified Aruba as a major drug-transit country. Aruba is situated on a major drug-transit route, with the vast majority of the cocaine and heroin that transits Aruba destined for the United States.
Cocaine trafficking through Aruba to Puerto Rico continues to involve both transshipment through Aruba and redistribution from Aruba as a hub to other locations. Cocaine is smuggled by ship via Aruba, using commercial vessels, cruise ships, pleasure craft, and fishing boats. In addition, according to the Dea, traffickers use Aruba's free-zone facilities to engage in transit of bulk shipments of cocaine without scrutiny by local officials. A substantial portion of the free-zone's businesses in Aruba are owned and operated by members of the Mansur family, who have been indicted in the United States on charges of conspiracy to launder trafficking proceeds. Netherlands Antilles. Analysis of the trafficking patterns indicates that there is considerable drug activity taking place around the Netherlands Antilles, especially around St. Maarten. Although, at present, we have only anecdotal information, it is possible that significant quantities of U.S.-bound drugs are involved.
Turkey and Other Balkan Route Countries. Although I am still concerned about the large volume of Southwest Asian heroin moving through Turkey and neighboringcountries to Western Europe along the Balkan Route, there is no clear evidence that this heroin significantly affects the United States. If in the future it is determined that heroin transiting Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, the former Republic of Yugoslavia, Bosnia, Croatia, the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, or other European countries on the Balkan Route significantly affects the United States, I will add the relevant countries to the "majors" list.
Cuba. Cuba's geographical position astride one of the principal Caribbean trafficking routes to the United States makes it a logical candidate for consideration for the "majors" list. While there continue to be some credible reports that trafficking syndicates use Cuban territory (including waters and airspace) for moving drugs, it has not been confirmed that this traffic carries significant quantities of cocaine or heroin to the United States.
Central Asia. In 1996, the State Department conducted probe efforts in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, traditional poppy-growing areas of the former Soviet Union. These probes did not show significant opium poppy cultivation. If ongoing analysis reveals cultivation of 1,000 hectares or more of poppy, I will add such countries to the "majors" list at the appropriate time.
Major Cannabis Producers. While Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, the Philippines, and South Africa are important cannabis producers, they do not appear on the list since I have determined, pursuant to Faa section 481(a)(2), that in all cases the cannabis is either consumed locally or exported to countries other than the United States, and thus, such illicit cannabis production does not significantly affect the United States.
Sincerely,
William J. Clinton
Some Aruba info
Mark place for later
DRUG SMUGGLERS AND MONEY LAUNDERERSDUTCH TREAT
The Netherlands government still controls foreign-policymatters in the semi-autonomous Dutch Caribbean entities of Aruba and Curaçao.In early May this year, a conference was held in Curaçao, on moneylaundering in Latin America. The sponsors of the gathering included theAssociation of International Bankers of the Netherlands Antilles. Thesebankers have not been consistently rigorous in action against money laundering.In 1989, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau stated the investigationthat led to prosecution of Bank of Credit Commerce International (BCCI)for irregularities. A BCCI subsidiary, First American Bank Shares of Washington,D.C., was a wholly owned subsidiary itself of the Credit & CommerceAmerican Investments of the Netherlands and of Curaçao. Three yearslater Morganthau had broken some of the bank secrecy in the Netherlandsand in its Antilles dependencies. A former Dutch prosecutor told the Curaçaoconference that drug traffickers had penetrated the government institutionsin Aruba. The conference heard that the powerful Mansur family, whose membersown Marlboro cigarette factories in Aruba and liquor stores, were linkedto money laundering. The U.S. indicted cousins Eric and Alex Mansur forusing Interbank to launder money from Colombian drug sales in the USA.Now the U.S. Justice Department is trying to find what parallel operationsfrom Mexican drug cartels involve Netherlands Antilles entities.
The Aruban Attorney General is always a Dutchnational, the appointment of whom must be approved by the government atThe Hague. New York journalist Lucy Komisar reported on May 29, 1997, thatthe Dutch government helping the U.S. probe the Caribbean connection, soDutch banks will continue to be welcome to operate in New York. Aruba andCuraçao banks do have depositors who are Mexican nationals but sofar we have no details on any of them in terms of money or drug trafficking.But the Colombian-Antilles connection has been firmly established, boththe WASHINGTON TIMES and the WALL STREET JOURNAL have reported. Further,Bogota newspapers in 1996 charged that someone from the Mansur family ofAruba funneled US$500,000 in campaign cash to Colombian President ErnestoSamper through the wife of a Cali cartel boss. Samper denied it vigorously.After such charges, the Mansurs were awarded a monopoly on managing Colombiangambling, but then the government suddenly canceled that monopoly withoutexplanation.
More on the Mansur family.
DRUG SMUGGLERS AND MONEY LAUNDERERSDUTCH TREAT
The Netherlands government still controls foreign-policymatters in the semi-autonomous Dutch Caribbean entities of Aruba and Curaçao.In early May this year, a conference was held in Curaçao, on moneylaundering in Latin America. The sponsors of the gathering included theAssociation of International Bankers of the Netherlands Antilles. Thesebankers have not been consistently rigorous in action against money laundering.In 1989, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau stated the investigationthat led to prosecution of Bank of Credit Commerce International (BCCI)for irregularities. A BCCI subsidiary, First American Bank Shares of Washington,D.C., was a wholly owned subsidiary itself of the Credit & CommerceAmerican Investments of the Netherlands and of Curaçao. Three yearslater Morganthau had broken some of the bank secrecy in the Netherlandsand in its Antilles dependencies. A former Dutch prosecutor told the Curaçaoconference that drug traffickers had penetrated the government institutionsin Aruba. The conference heard that the powerful Mansur family, whose membersown Marlboro cigarette factories in Aruba and liquor stores, were linkedto money laundering. The U.S. indicted cousins Eric and Alex Mansur forusing Interbank to launder money from Colombian drug sales in the USA.Now the U.S. Justice Department is trying to find what parallel operationsfrom Mexican drug cartels involve Netherlands Antilles entities.
The Aruban Attorney General is always a Dutchnational, the appointment of whom must be approved by the government atThe Hague. New York journalist Lucy Komisar reported on May 29, 1997, thatthe Dutch government helping the U.S. probe the Caribbean connection, soDutch banks will continue to be welcome to operate in New York. Aruba andCuraçao banks do have depositors who are Mexican nationals but sofar we have no details on any of them in terms of money or drug trafficking.But the Colombian-Antilles connection has been firmly established, boththe WASHINGTON TIMES and the WALL STREET JOURNAL have reported. Further,Bogota newspapers in 1996 charged that someone from the Mansur family ofAruba funneled US$500,000 in campaign cash to Colombian President ErnestoSamper through the wife of a Cali cartel boss. Samper denied it vigorously.After such charges, the Mansurs were awarded a monopoly on managing Colombiangambling, but then the government suddenly canceled that monopoly withoutexplanation.
http://duncan.gn.apc.org/bat/Health_Committee_Evidence_1.htm
http://duncan.gn.apc.org/bat/Health_Committee_Evidence_1.htm
# From 1990 onwards, the major means by which the cartels sought to bring funds back to Colombia was by means of smuggling. The principal centre for this activity was Aruba, and the principal product involved was cigarettes. At this time, the three most prominent smuggling agents in Aruba were the Harms family, the Mansur family, and Randolph Habibe. The Harms worked for BAT, while the Mansurs worked for Philip Morris, the manufacturers of Marlboro cigarettes.
# The basic mechanism of money laundering was that US dollars raised from cocaine sales were transferred to Aruba, and used to purchase cigarettes from agents such as the Harms or the Mansurs. The cigarettes were then smuggled into Colombia along traditional routes, and sold in urban black market centres known as Sanandresitos. The proceeds of the black market sales were then transferred to the cocaine producers, as "clean" Colombian pesos. This mechanism, known as peso broking, is the basic means of money laundering associated with cocaine trafficking.
# From 1990 onwards, contraband cigarettes increasingly took over from legal cigarette sales in Colombia, at times constituting 70 to 90 per cent of the market. BAT (and Philip Morris) responded to the situation by massively increasing contraband shipments into Colombia, primarily by way of Aruba. BAT files show that successive illegal operations were planned from the United Kingdom to increase smuggling sales into Colombia. Most of the BAT cigarettes concerned came from Venezuela. Smuggling into Colombia was so important to BAT that when Venezuela threatened to introduce export taxes, BATCo responded with an emergency plan to relocate its factories and equipment to Chile instead.
# By 1992, both the Mansurs and the Harms were under active investigation by American and British law enforcement agencies for involvement in cocaine related money-laundering. Yet in the same year, BAT director Keith Dunt visited Aruba to be briefed by Roy Harms about smuggling, and then invited him to enjoy corporate hospitality at Wimbledon alongside ambassadors and a Foreign Office minister.
# Similar features are present in other major BAT smuggling markets. In Hong Kong, the close involvement of the smuggling trade with Triad gangs has resulted in the murder of a BAT manager and an agent, the prosecution for corruption of the company’s former export manager, and other ex-employees fleeing justice.
# In Asia as in Latin America, smuggling routes used by BAT into Myanmar, Thailand, Afghanistan among others overlap directly with traditional narcotics export routes, in this case from the "Golden Triangle" and "Golden Crescent" regions.
I got to thinking. The witness supposedly saw two men nab Natalee. Satish claims to have been home an hour after being seen at CnC's. Could the two men seen with Natalee be Sloot and Deepak? They had to get her out of the car and onto a boat?
Bande Aceh!
Yes, as soon as you all started talking about Rotterdam and Abu Dhabi, Bande Aceh popped into my mind too!
Now which one will obsess me the most today?
Or a "Stepford" village.
Too many dark secrets behind the pretty smiles, perfect resorts, and Carlos & Charlie's.
Isn't that a rather large number considering the size of the island?
[Two broken a/c condensers, brakes & rotors shot, father's day gathering and carpooling, even though I haven't been posting much I have been trying to follow this thread--GOOD WORK ALL!!!!]
When VDS frequented the casinos, did he gamble? Perhaps he got into debt, way over his head, with unsavory types. Turning over a fresh, young, blond woman may have been a payoff for those debts.
As to your question above: I thought about it, but remember one of the brothers (I can't remember which, it is in this long thread somewhere) said that he received an email from VDS about an hour after he (the brother) got home that night/morning? The email said something like "I have something to tell you..." so I suspect something happened to Natalee while in the presence of VDS and not afterwards with the brothers. But who knows now. This is certainly a web woven of high intrigue.
And, again today, on the TV they are trying to counter any negativity about Aruba...talking with people who say how "nice," peaceful, tourist-friendly it is there. Well, perhaps on the surface that is how they make it appear. But inside their hearts we are all just "cowboys" to them, and their disdain is very apparant. But they also realize that we Americans, once discovering that there is something very amiss with the crime activity there, will take our cowboy dollars spend them somewhere else.
I think Natalee's parents are walking a very thin line, and cannot make much of a fuss about any ineptness or Keystone Cops-like handling of this investigation for fear of losing the government's/police help on this. But, after it is all over I believe we will hear a different song from her mother and her family.
IMHO.
Fascinating article, thanks for posting that.
A few other interesting quotes:
There were varying descriptions of Joran, ranging from model student athlete to casino playboy (he met Natalee in a casino). He is tall, handsome, and looks older than his age. His friends, Satish and Deepak, also sons of wealth and privilege, were described to me by a local islander "as bad men who mistreat women." One scenario has the trio involved in a seedy scam that involves meeting attractive female tourists, learning the date of their departure, and taking advantage of them on their final night in town.
And:
The family was informed, however, that paying $1,000 to a certain official might make him work harder to find Natalee. Friends of the family concluded about that official that "no sum of money could make him smart enough to help us."
We are certainly getting the "other side" of the story now, thanks for these articles, cg!
I read earlier somewhere that he had a gambling debt. Don't know if it's true though. (And no idea now where I read it!)
Colombia
The Colombian free trade zone city, Maicao, which borders Venezuela, has a large Shiite community, and is a known “vacation spot” for Islamist groups. According to an U.S. Intelligence source, “Cells of the radical group Hizballah control 70% of the local commerce.” In addition, “the merchants from there make contributions equivalent to 10% and up to 30 % of their profits. Those responsible for the fund send the money via banks in Maracaibo, Venezuela and Panama. Sometimes a part of it is carried personally by emissaries from those cells.” [177]
According to Colombian law enforcement, Maicao is known for its “black market for weapons and money laundering.” [178] Moreover, the Hizballah cells in Maicao also launder money for drug traffickers and other criminals in Colombia, and use the money to fund Hizballah’s international terrorist activities. [179]
The globalization of narco-terrorism, and particularly of the Islamist narco-terror network, which includes Hizballah, has been common knowledge to international law–enforcement and intelligence services for decades. But the special report prepared by the Library of Congress for the U.S. Defense Department on “Narcotic-Funded Terrorist/Extremist Groups,” in May 2002, states that: “There are indications (emphasis added) that Hizballah is involved in narcotics trafficking and perhaps even in drug production…but such activity appears to be quite secondary to the struggle against Israel.” However, volumes of evidence concerning Hizballah’s narcotic activities suggest that this is not “quite” a secondary activity, nor is it directed only against Israel – Hizballah’s quiet and effective implementation of its fatwa, calling for the use of drugs as a weapon against the West, has filled its coffers with enough money to threaten not only the national security of the US but also that of other countries in the West.
http://www.intelligence.org.il/eng/bu/hizbullah/pb/app14.htm#
Another one of those global Jihadist funding articles which is fascinating and connects dots between the drug lords in Colombia and the narco terrorsits and Hezbollah.These are very big dogs with alot to protect.They didn't kidnap Nat but they don't want our attention.
Vs and his Dad went to the casinos together and played poker.
I read that the brothers, the Surinamese, were poor. Nobody has seen their families. They work to get money. I think they were wannabes.
And VS is not rich that I can tell. BTW his father failed the judge test.
Yes, I read that too about the brothers, that their family has some sort of food stand. Didn't sound like they were wealthy at all.
So Papa VDS failed the judge test, well well well.
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