Aruba fell from first to sixth place in safety in the Caribbean due to cuts in Justice
Member of Parliament for the MEP faction and former Minister of Justice, Rocco Tjon, gave a detailed explanation of how the budget cuts by the current government have begun affecting Aruba’s position internationally, resulting in a dramatic drop in our country’s security.
Tjon recalled that the previous administration handed over to the current minister a country categorized by several independent international portals as the safest island in the Caribbean region. However, according to the latest objective research published, Aruba lost this top spot and dropped to sixth place in the region.
According to MP Rocco Tjon, this deterioration is not a coincidence, but the direct result of the 10% cut applied by this government to the Justice budget since their first day of work in March 2025.
Tjon emphasized that this decision was taken despite the minister receiving written warnings from all heads of security departments:
• Attorney General (Procureur-Generaal)
• Chief of Police (Korpschef)
• Director of the Correctional Institution of Aruba (KIA)
• Director of Immigration
All these leaders clearly indicated that the funding cut would have serious consequences for operations and safety in Aruba, but the government decided to ignore these letters and proceed with the measure.
}In addition to the paralysis of the radars, Tjon brought forward two alarming points of concern:
• For the Police Force: The police union called for the attention of the minister and Parliament, because for over a year and a half, certain specific points in favor of the officers were approved, but to this day none have been implemented due to a lack of funds.
• Security camera project in danger: Tjon warned that, just like the radars, the island-wide surveillance camera project is suffering serious delays due to the minister’s lack of attention and resources. Soon, this vital system also risks stopping altogether.
“Security costs money,” Tjon concluded, emphasizing that these inappropriate decisions not only harm Aruba’s international image, but also leave the community and the police officers themselves unprotected.