“We need the Americans,” said de Wever. There is a lot of work in the fight against organized crimes, “and we can only do them together”. In this context, the Belgian prime minister referred to US President Donald Trump, who has made the fight against drug trafficking in the Caribbean and on the Pacific coast a priority of his government.
With regard to security in European ports, Bart de Wever named the increased cooperation between Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg as part of an “port alliance” launched in 2024 under the patronage of the EU. According to him, European security standards could also be imposed on the South American ports “with the support of the Americans”: “That could help enormously.”
Over the years, Antwerp has become the most important gateway for cocaine in Europe. In 2023, the Belgian customs confiscated the record of 116 tons of the drug. However, this trend changed with increasing controls, and in 2024 the seizures of cocaine from Latin America fell to 44 tons.
The Trump confidante and US Minister of Housing Protection Noem asked shipping companies when she visited Antwerpen in the fight against drug trafficking. “We have to make sure that shipping companies meet the requirements to provide us with the information required,” she said.
