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Article: Breeze whispers Aruba's secrets; Beneath the surface of 'happy island' lies a shady culture of cartels, illegals.(WORLD)(BRIEFING: THE AMERICAS)
- Article from:
- The Washington Times (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- June 21, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 The Washington Times LLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Anton Foek, THE WASHINGTON TIMES
ORANJESTAD, Aruba - Arriving at Queen Beatrix Airport of the island of Aruba, visitors are struck by a gentle and refreshing breeze from the northeast.
Aruba is a prosperous and proud part of the Dutch Caribbean, with no abject poverty and few political problems. It is also an autonomous part of the kingdom of the Netherlands where nearly everybody speaks at least three foreign languages.
The trip from the airport to the capital takes less than 10 minutes, and the hotel strip with its high-rises is another 10 minutes south. The island, not much bigger than Manhattan, has 120,000 inhabitants. Half are ...