NATO Sec. Rutte 'mute' on Dutch Cargo Ships bringing in the most drugs via Columbia
Columbian Drugs first stop in Rotterdam
NATO’s Silence on the Drug Trade: Trump Meets Secretary Rutte
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In a recent video, former U.S. President Donald Trump is seen seated beside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who previously served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands. What’s striking is Rutte’s silence regarding Trump’s remarks about stopping the massive flow of drugs into the United States and Europe—an issue Rutte, of all people, should know well.
As the former Dutch leader, Rutte is fully aware that Rotterdam, one of the world’s largest seaports, has become a major gateway for narcotics entering Europe. Thousands of kilograms of cocaine and other illegal substances are smuggled from Colombia each year aboard large container ships destined for Dutch and other EU ports.
Authorities have long known that traffickers often attach waterproof containers beneath cargo ship hulls. Scuba Divers—many of them Colombian nationals who have entered the Netherlands under its lenient immigration policies—retrieve the shipments once the vessels dock. These operations are highly coordinated; traffickers use tracking systems to know precisely where and when the illicit cargo arrives.
Despite this, Rutte offered no comment in defense of Trump’s hardline stance against the drug trade. The silence is telling. With such widespread and systematic trafficking occurring under EU and NATO member flags, Trump’s tough rhetoric—calling for extreme measures against drug-smuggling vessels—may prove politically uncomfortable but not unfounded.
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