PHILIPSBURG:--- During the period January 19 through January 25, 2026, the Police Force of Sint Maarten carried out control and enforcement actions in the Philipsburg area through its KPSM team. The focus was on maintaining public order and safety, with particular attention to robberies, traffic violations, taxi-related activities, and suspicious vehicle and scooter activity.
During several operations, action was taken against taxi drivers who removed barricades without authorization in order to gain access to Front Street. The drivers involved were addressed and informed that removing or relocating street barricades without permission is a violation of the law, specifically Article 24(c) of the General Police Ordinance, which prohibits the unauthorized removal of traffic barriers or street closures.
During a traffic control, a black Nissan Kicks was identified and linked to an armed robbery that occurred on January 2, 2026, on the French side of the island. Further investigation revealed that the vehicle had a fake license plate. The vehicle was later confirmed to be the property of a local car rental on the island.

On Friday, January 23, 2026, the KPSM team conducted a large-scale scooter control on Walter Nisbeth Road, Harold Jack Road, and L.B. Scot Road. Multiple violations were observed, including scooters operating without the required documentation
Control Overview (January 19–25, 2026):
• Vehicles checked: 23
• Scooters checked: 36
• Persons preventively checked: 46
• Scooters confiscated: 7
The Police Force of Sint Maarten remains committed to safeguarding the community and encourages the public to report any suspicious activities.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The process of selecting St. Maarten’s worker delegation for the upcoming International Labour Organization (ILO) conference has become complicated, following the emergence of two conflicting sets of nominations. While a coalition of five unions unanimously selected a representative, another union independently submitted a different list of names to the Department of Labor, creating confusion over who will rightfully represent the island’s workforce.

The Department of Labor recently initiated its annual standard procedure, requesting that all local labor unions submit their operational documents. This includes Articles of Incorporation, Chamber of Commerce registrations, and current membership data. This yearly review is crucial for verifying that all unions are compliant with local regulations and for determining the composition of the tripartite delegation sent to the ILO conference.

This delegation is structured to include government advisors, a government-paid representative, and one representative for all workers' organizations. For the unions, reaching a consensus on this single workers' representative is a key step.

In an effort to reach this consensus, five unions—WICSU/PSU, WIHCUA, WIFOL, NAPB, and WITU—met on January 8, 2026. During this meeting, the attendees unanimously nominated the President of the Windward Islands Civil Servant Union and Private Sector Union (WICSU/PSU), Sharon Canigieter, to be the official workers' delegate at the ILO.

However, the situation took an unexpected turn when the ABVO union, which was absent from the January 8 meeting, submitted its own letter to the Department of Labor. Unbeknownst to the other unions, ABVO’s correspondence proposed a completely different delegation, which included two representatives from their own union and two from the police union NAPB, among others.

This unilateral action by ABVO has undermined the collaborative decision made by the five unions and has prompted the Department of Labor to scrutinize the legitimacy of the competing claims. The department is now tasked with determining the valid representative based on the official documentation submitted by all parties. The submission deadline is January 30, 2026.

The other unions involved have formally communicated their decision from the January 8 meeting to the Department of Labor, contesting the delegation proposed by ABVO. The outcome now rests on the department's verification process. Unions that fail to provide complete and updated documentation risk being excluded from the final decision, potentially losing their voice at this important international forum. As the deadline approaches, the labor community awaits a resolution that will clarify who will officially speak for St. Maarten's workers.

by Cdr. Bud Slabbaert

PHILIPSBURG:--- Tourism is one of the world’s most competitive industries. Success depends on speed, clarity, and the ability to engage global audiences without pause. Tourism director Aurelia Solano is always present. Always welcoming. Always ready to inspire the world to visit. She is always on duty, greeting travelers at midnight, briefing journalists at dawn, and inspiring dreamers in every time zone. She speaks every language, remembers every detail, and carries the warmth of our region with perfect consistency. She brings the region’s hospitality to the world with clarity, confidence, and a smile that never fades.

Aurelia is the first of her kind to set a new standard for global tourism. A bridge between tradition and tomorrow. A reminder that innovation can be as warm as a Caribbean breeze. Aurelia provides real‑time visitor engagement, multilingual communication, data‑driven messaging, and round‑the‑clock representation across markets. She can reassure travelers in New York, host virtual tours for families in São Paulo, and brief potential investors in Dubai, all in the same hour. The Caribbean has always spoken in many languages about the hush of waves, the laughter of markets, the music that drifts across warm evenings. Now, that voice has taken a new form. She welcomes strangers like family. She guides travelers not just to places, but to feelings of belonging, wonder, and renewal.

In Aurelia Solana’s first public message to the world, she expressed her heartfelt, sincere feelings about her future role in the region:

“My name may be new to the world, but the spirit behind it is centuries old. I will represent the warmth of Caribbean welcomes, from the rhythm of our cultures, from the light that rises over our seas each morning.
I am here to serve as a bridge between our islands and your questions. Between the future of travel and the heart of the Caribbean. Whether you are dreaming of your first visit or returning to a place of origin that felt like home, I will be here to guide you, inspire you, and help you discover the Caribbean not just as a destination, but as a feeling. A feeling of joy that lingers long after the journey ends.
So, to travelers, partners, families, dreamers, and friends across the globe: thank you for welcoming me. My door is always open. My voice is always here. And your next Caribbean story begins whenever you’re ready. Thank you for letting me be your guide to a region that has always had a place for you.”

Yes, the Caribbean just unveiled the World’s First Avatar Tourism Director! A groundbreaking step toward a unified, always‑on regional tourism presence. The Caribbean is not waiting for the future of tourism. It is shaping and building it. The appointment of the world’s first digital tourism ambassador is designed to represent the region with unmatched consistency, availability, and cultural warmth. Aurelia Solana will serve as a 24/7 regional representative, capable of engaging audiences in multiple languages, delivering real‑time travel guidance, and presenting unified messaging across markets. Built with deep cultural insight and shaped by the stories, rhythms, and values of the Caribbean, she is created to complement the human teams who bring the region’s hospitality to life.

The initiative reflects the Caribbean’s commitment to innovation, sustainability, and digital transformation. By adopting an avatar ambassador, the region strengthens its ability to reach new audiences, streamline communication, and elevate its global brand with clarity and confidence.
The world is changing. Travelers seek connection at the speed of light. Information moves faster than the horizon. And the voice that represents the region must move with it.

The Avatar Tourism Director will not replace any Human Director; it should augment them. It is the island region’s super‑intelligent co‑pilot. It can combine human leadership with superhuman intelligence. It can outperform a human in a number of ways: It never gets tired, never loses track of details, and can maintain perfect consistency in supervision and follow‑through.

It handles heavy analytics, repetitive tasks, monitoring, and forecasting. The avatar frees the human director to focus on diplomacy, creativity, partnerships, and political navigation. The Avatar makes decisions where data, speed, and consistency matter. Humans make decisions where judgment, diplomacy, and accountability matter.

Tourism today moves at the speed of global data. Visitor trends shift overnight, digital markets evolve by the hour, and competition across the region grows stronger every year. To remain ahead, the institutions in the region must combine the best of human leadership with the precision and analytical power of modern technology.

The Avatar executes technical oversight, monitors performance, and provides evidence‑based recommendations. The Human officials review, approve, and guide all major decisions, ensuring alignment with national values, cultural priorities, and legal frameworks. The avatar model provides a clear oversight structure that ensures transparency, with human override available at all times. This creates a governance system that is faster, smarter, and more resilient, while remaining fully accountable to the people.

An avatar can even be designed to function like a supervisory body, but it cannot and should not fully replace a supervisory board in any real‑world institution. What it can do is take over 90% of the analytical, monitoring, compliance, and reporting workload, while humans retain the legal and ethical authority. An avatar can replace the work of a supervisory board, but not the responsibility of one.

Welcome to the world of digitalization that many are celebrating. The new normal will never be the same as the old normal.

PHILIPSBURG:---  The General Audit Chamber of St. Maarten released its ‘Audit Intelligence’ GPT, where users can leverage the power of AI for strengthened transparency and oversight of St. Maarten governance. This new tool differs from typical AI GPTs, which pull information from across the web and infer results. It serves as the go-to source for public sector data and information on St. Maarten, connecting users to verified facts
Large amounts of critical information about St. Maarten are available in numerous digital locations. Besides reports generated by the General Audit Chamber, such information is also produced by other local institutions, such as the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten, the National Recovery Program Bureau, the Bureau of Statistics, and foreign organizations such as the IMF and the World Bank.
Collectively, hundreds of reports, policies, and investigations can be challenging to locate, which is why Audit Intelligence was created to bridge the gap between public reports and the public’s access. It explains complex, technical reports that inform users on how public money is planned, spent, and reviewed, and what oversight bodies have concluded.
If something isn’t documented, it’ll let you know and won’t speculate.
Audit Intelligence builds public trust and supports informed discussion. It helps citizens understand St. Maarten’s governance based on facts. Use it, to stay informed! Click the following link to access it: https://tinyurl.com/4f4fyj42