Diplomatic Briefing
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Newsline: US diplomat missing in Curacao
Curacao detectives are still trying to solve the disappearance of a U.S. diplomat whose bloodied clothes were found three months ago on a rocky beach. The 49-year-old U.S. Vice Consul James Hogan vanished Sept. 24 after leaving his Curacao home for one of his regular late-night walks. Police said a trail of Hogan’s blood was found on rocks leading to the water at Baya Beach, where his clothes were folded neatly. An expensive kitchen knife and Hogan’s cell phone were found in the water just off the beach. Curacao investigators have said they are considering all possibilities, including suicide. Hogan, a Florida resident, arrived in Curacao in August 2008 for a two-year assignment. The Dutch island off the coast of Venezuela is the seat of the Netherlands Antilles government.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gH_Ebn3Z80d0mZh7qmEDDvZaCNIwD9CN8F8G5
Newsline: Dutch to summon Venezuela ambassador on comments
Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen denied fresh accusations by the Venezuelan government that the Netherlands is supporting U.S. spy flights over Venezuelan territory. Verhagen condemned the comments as “inaccurate, unjust and really out of place” in a statement and said he would summon Venezuela’s ambassador again to explain the remarks. Twice in the past two weeks, the government of President Hugo Chavez has publicly claimed that the Dutch have let the U.S. military launch spy flights from bases on the territories of Aruba and Curacao under the guise of drug surveillance missions. On December 17 Chavez said the Netherlands was planning “aggression” against Venezuela in concert with the United States, and on Thursday his government again charged the Dutch with “complicity” in such plans. Verhagen said the Netherlands had made clear to the Venezuelan government that the civilian airports in the Dutch islands have been made available to the United States solely for unarmed drug surveillance missions. The United States has for years had a military presence on Curacao and Aruba, with about 250 Air Force crew and ground staff involved in counter-narcotics and surveillance operations over the Caribbean region.
http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE6000R120100101
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