The mayors of Europe’s three most important port cities are urging the German government to take decisive action to counter the rise of the drug mafia. After Rotterdam and Antwerp, the port city of Hamburg is also increasingly in the sights of cocaine smugglers. 35 tons of cocaine were seized in Hamburg in 2023. This is still noticeably less than seizures in Rotterdam (48 tons) or Antwerp (120 tons), but a strong increase compared to previous years.
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At the beginning of this year, the three mayors went on a two-week working visit to ports in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Costa Rica to set up cooperation agreements in the fight against drug smuggling. A mission that cost the city of Antwerp around 200,000 euros.
“Sometimes you have to pick up the invoice if you want to get things moving. And I am someone who wants to get things moving. And when it comes to combating drug crime, it was absolutely necessary to build more partnerships.”
Bart De Wever
Antwerp mayor
“That’s a lot of money,” Mayor De Wever also acknowledges. “That work trip turned out to be more expensive because the federal government imposed extra safety measures on us, at an additional cost of 40,000 euros. But sometimes you have to pick up the bill if you want to get things moving. And I am someone who wants to get things moving. And when it came to the fight against drug crime, it was absolutely necessary to build more partnerships. And I really think we’re making progress. Not only have we managed to set up cooperation agreements with the source countries in South America, we have also managed to form a real coalition against organized crime within Europe.”
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Ecuador and Costa Rica
The three mayors took their findings to the German Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser. “We were shocked by the situation in Ecuador and the disturbing developments at the port of Limon in Costa Rica. Ecuador has slipped from a stable nation to a country on the brink of collapse. Costa Rica is in danger of becoming a second Ecuador. During our visit, those countries emphatically asked for our support. Countries in South America are making enormous efforts to tackle organized crime, but they are asking us for more international cooperation and support.”
“We can finally say to some ports in South America: you must meet these requirements if you still want to trade with us”
Bart De Wever
Mayor of Antwerp
Mayor Bart De Wever is happy with the strong support from the Germans. “We are close to an agreement with the port of Rotterdam and Hamburg on the ISPS code (International Code on the Security of Ships and Port Facilities, ed.) so that we can greatly improve safety in the ports. This would also mean that other ports would have to meet the new safety requirements if they wanted to do international business. We can finally say to some ports in South America: you must meet these requirements if you still want to trade with us.”
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Boots on the ground
De Wever and his colleagues also believe that the European Union should develop its own strategy in South America. The European Union must cooperate more intensively with its partners in South America. “We also need to ensure more boots on the ground in South America. I am also a big supporter of starting a Special Investigations Unit (SIU) with the Germans in Ecuador. Both the mayor of Hamburg and the Minister of the Interior were interested in this.”
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Tags: Europe South America work fight drug trafficking Wever fellow port mayors sound alarm Antwerp
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