BONAIRE:  1 July 2026, James Finies announces to the people of Bonaire that, in recognition of the abolition of slavery in 1863 in the colonized Antillean islands of the Caribbean, the Bonaire Draft Resolution, sponsored by two Caribbean CARICOM countries, was formally submitted and registered into the administrative process of the 80th United Nations General Assembly on 10th June 2026.

Since 1955, when Bonaire and the former Netherlands Antilles islands were removed by the Netherlands from the United Nations List of Non-Self-Governing Territories (NSGT), this is the most significant step taken toward a major constitutional action concerning the colonized Dutch Caribbean islands.

This Bonaire Draft Resolution urges recognition that Bonaire remains a Non-Self-Governing Territory within the meaning of the Charter of the United Nations and declares that an obligation exists under Article 73 of the Charter on the part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as the administering Power of the Territory of Bonaire, to transmit information on Bonaire. It further requests the Special Committee on Decolonization to consider the question of Bonaire at its next session and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its eighty-first session. The draft proposal was uploaded by the United Nations General Assembly Secretariat for worldwide access, including the 193 Member States of the United Nations, through the e-Delegate system.

What does this mean for Bonaire? It means that the Netherlands will be obligated to be accountable and report to the United Nations General Assembly on the social, economic, cultural, political, and educational development of the native Bonerian people, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the treaties that the Netherlands agreed to and signed in 1945. This has happened only three times in world history: in New Caledonia in 1986, French Polynesia in 2013, and now, for the first time in this part of the world, with Bonaire in June 2026.

How did this happen? From 2003 to 2010, James Finies stood up, publicly objected, and voiced his opposition to the divisive and polarizing direction in which Bonairean and Antillean politicians were heading. From 2010 to 2016, James Finies abandoned his lifelong career as a commercial banker and became a full-time volunteer human rights defender on Bonaire and throughout the Antilles, advocating for a referendum and the right to self-determination. Following the failure to respect Bonaire's 2015 referendum, James Finies, from 2016 to 2026, embarked on an international trajectory of continuous awareness-raising and lobbying missions throughout the Caribbean, Central and Latin America, Europe, and the United Nations in Geneva and New York, advocating for the re-listing of Bonaire under the protection of the United Nations.

The advocacy group led by Mr. Finies is the only organization that has consistently worked, from 2003 to the present day in 2026, to highlight and justify the need for the international community to intervene in Bonaire and the wider Dutch Caribbean islands as part of a civil society effort.

Why Bonaire? - The people of Bonaire were left unprotected and abandoned by the CAS islands when Curaçao, Aruba, and St. Maarten, together with the Netherlands, following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010, unilaterally removed Bonaire from the protection of the Kingdom Charter. The people of Bonaire were incorporated, against their wishes and without their consent, into the Constitution of the Netherlands, subordinated and placed at the mercy of external rule from The Hague.

Unlike Curaçao, Aruba, St. Maarten, Saba, and St. Eustatius, Bonaire has since developed into a silent but major humanitarian crisis. Bonaire is in a dire situation, facing immediate demographic and cultural erasure. Native Bonerians, who comprised more than 70% of the population before 2010, according to CBS statistics, have been systematically reduced through institutionalized laws and policies to under 30% today, with predictions that within ten years, by 2035, they will account for less than 15% of the population but fortunately Bonaire possess large diaspora in the Dutch Kingdom. This places the Bonerians at risk of imminent eradication over the next decades if the world and the international community do not intervene to protect the Bonerian people. 

James Finies - Bonaire

PHILIPSBURG:--- Megaleios Communications + Consultancy has published How to Fix a Utility Company, a governance white paper examining N.V. GEBE as a live case study in utility governance, reliability, public trust, financial transparency, and institutional recovery.

When a utility company struggles, the damage is not limited to engines, invoices, or boardrooms. It reaches homes, businesses, schools, hospitals, workers, investors, and the confidence people place in public institutions.

The paper brings together reports, headlines, court cases, complaints, policy documents, and public information to provide a wider view of the crisis facing GEBE. Its purpose is not to attack anyone, but to help shift the conversation from blame to repair.

“As a researcher, I kept noticing the same patterns across government-owned companies on St. Maarten: instability, weak oversight, public frustration, and accountability gaps,” said Ralph Cantave, founder of Megaleios Communications + Consultancy. “There was a need to bring the facts together in a way that offered clarity, depth, and understanding.”

The paper argues that the cycle of instability, billing chaos, power outages, and accountability failures at GEBE is a governance problem, not only a technical one. It also makes a clear point: new engines are necessary, but they are not enough on their own.

A sustainable utility recovery also requires stable leadership, a competent and independent Supervisory Board, current audited financial statements, credible tariff information, structured complaint handling, lawful accountability, and a realistic plan for energy and water transition.

The paper provides a practical public framework for resolving the crisis. It is written for current and future leadership, the regulator, Government, Parliament, and the wider public. It also supports public discourse from an informed position and sheds light on factors and perspectives that have not always been considered.

The paper was prepared over approximately three weeks through research, review, drafting, and refinement, including reports, policy documents, articles, and publicly available information. It has also been sent to key stakeholders because the conversation must move from frustration to repair.

How to Fix a Utility Company is not an official audit report and does not provide a formal audit opinion. It is a public-interest governance paper intended to support clearer decisions, stronger accountability, and institutional recovery.

A utility turnaround is not a single procurement exercise. It is a governance reset, a financial reset, a communication reset, and a public trust reset.

The paper is now publicly available on LinkedIn via: https://tinyurl.com/fixgebe

PHILIPSBURG:---  Customs Sint Maarten intercepted 20 kilograms of cocaine during an inspection of an in-transit container vessel at Port St. Maarten on April 18, 2026. The seizure ultimately led to the arrest of two suspects in the Netherlands on suspicion of involvement in the importation of the narcotics.

The cocaine was discovered inside a sports bag concealed in an apparently empty container destined for the Netherlands. Following the discovery, the Prosecutor's Office Sint Maarten authorized the use of special investigative powers and requested that the Dutch authorities continue the investigation.

The container vessel arrived in the Netherlands on May 5, 2026, where it was inspected by Dutch authorities as part of the ongoing investigation. The investigation was subsequently taken over by the HARC Team (Hit and Run Cargo Team), a multidisciplinary partnership comprising Dutch Customs, the Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD), the Seaport Police, and the Dutch Prosecution Service.

The investigation resulted in the arrest of two suspects in the Netherlands. The narcotics have since been destroyed.

This case highlights the close cooperation between customs and law enforcement authorities within the Kingdom in combating international drug trafficking and disrupting criminal networks that seek to use maritime cargo routes for the transport of illegal narcotics.

No further information can be provided at this time in the interest of the ongoing investigation.

PHILIPSBURG:---The Police Force of Sint Maarten (KPSM) is investigating a serious incident that occurred during the early morning hours of Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in the Cole Bay area, during which police officers came under gunfire while responding to a report of an attempted theft.

Just after 4:00 a.m., a police patrol was dispatched to Union Road in Cole Bay after the Police Central Dispatch received reports that unknown individuals were attempting to steal a scooter/motorcycle.

Upon arriving at the scene, officers immediately began investigating the situation. During their investigation, they were confronted by two suspects dressed in dark clothing. As soon as the suspects noticed the officers, a firearm was brandished by the suspects in the direction of the officers.

Faced with an immediate threat to their lives, the officers were forced to fire in order to protect themselves. The suspects returned fire after the officers while fleeing the scene.

The two suspects then fled the scene on foot into nearby bushes. Responding officers immediately conducted an extensive search of the surrounding area, but despite these efforts, the suspects managed to evade capture. The investigation into their identities and whereabouts remains ongoing.

Thankfully, neither of the responding officers was injured during the incident. However, the experience was a traumatic one, and both officers were understandably shaken.

Incidents such as this, in which criminals are willing to use firearms against police officers, demonstrate a blatant disregard for human life and pose a serious threat not only to officers but also to the safety of the entire community.

The Police Force of Sint Maarten strongly condemns these heinous criminal acts against officers who risk their lives to protect the community of Sint Maarten. Attacks on law enforcement will not be tolerated, and every available resource is being used to identify and arrest those responsible. Detectives are investigating this shooting incident

KPSM urges anyone who may have witnessed suspicious activity in the Cole Bay area during the early morning hours of Tuesday, June 30, or anyone with information regarding this incident or the recent series of robberies and thefts to come forward.

Members of the public are asked to contact the Police Dispatch at +1 (721) 542-2222 or call the anonymous Tip Line at 9300. Every piece of information, no matter how small it may seem, could prove crucial in identifying and apprehending those responsible.