The Curaçao aviation authority CCAA issued a warning to airlines this weekend for “unidentified air traffic” in the airspace around Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire. Local media reports this Curaçao.nu.
Pilots have regularly spotted unknown aircraft in the area in recent days. The CCAA therefore requests “extreme caution” when approaching and departing from airspace. The CCAA also now requires pilots to report any suspicious aerial activity.
The warning comes at a sensitive time. Tensions have been running high recently between nearby Venezuela and the United States. The Trump administration is bombing Venezuelan boats in the Caribbean Sea. The US claims – often without providing evidence – that these are “narcoterrorists”, but his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolás Maduro sees it as the beginning of a declaration of war.
To assure
In Curaçao – located just 65 kilometers from Venezuela – developments are being watched with care. The United States has built up a large military presence around Venezuela, in the Caribbean and the Pacific, sending warships, fighter jets and a nuclear submarine there. Last Friday, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said there is a “potentially dangerous situation” for air traffic to and from Venezuela.
Curaçao and Aruba, which have an autonomous status within the Dutch kingdom, as well as Bonaire (with the status of a Dutch municipality) are currently taking a neutral position in the escalation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs previously stated in response to parliamentary questions that the Netherlands “considers it important that all parties make efforts to prevent escalation and comply with international law.”
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Curaçao is watching the armed actions of the Americans with concern
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