Government of Curaçao

Video Transcript

As far as what to expect [with regards to] the political climate in Curaçao, in the year that I was there we went through three different Prime Ministers. So it was a high rate of turnover, and we went from a very pro-American Prime Minister to one that was really more preoccupied with his country. Slightly nationalistic, but wanted to get the country back on [its] feet. To one [Prime Minister] that ran on an openly anti-American and anti-European policy.

How I had to deal with each one was extremely different. And the tone that I used and the tack that I took going into any conversation varied depending on those individuals and their political backgrounds. The importance of understanding who you're working with, the host nation there in Curaçao, is pretty important.

Curaçao, in itself, does not have a military. They rely on the Dutch, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, to provide defense. So when you meet someone, if it's the Coast Guard or the Marines, they will be Dutch. There's a conscript force, however, that provides a lot of the enlisted ranks and a lot of enlisted labors, and they will be locals. Most of your dealings will be with the Dutch military, but often you just need to have an awareness about you that their expectations, or what you can expect from them is quite a bit different and their uniforms are different as well.

In this video, an Air Force lieutenant colonel elaborates on the Curaçaon political system.