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| Map: Curacao. Credit: CIA World Factbook. |
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Curacao has semi-autonomy within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It conducts foreign affairs, including with the United States, through the Netherlands, whose embassies and consulates issue visas for travel to the island.
Tourism and financial services are mainstays of Curacao’s economy. Approximately 800,000 tourists per year visit Curacao, with almost 25% of those from the United States. Oil refining is a key part of the economy; most of the refined products are exported to the U.S. The U.S. is a major supplier of consumer and capital goods imported by Curacao. In 2010, the U.S. accounted for 40% of Curacao's exports and 37% of Curacao's imports.
The U.S. Consulate General in Curacao is responsible for the day-to-day management of relations with the Dutch Caribbean, which includes Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten. Due to the strategic location of the Dutch Caribbean for the United States, the consulate deals with issues such as securing U.S. borders, countering terrorism, and fighting international crime, especially narcotics trafficking and human trafficking. The consulate provides a variety of services to U.S. citizens; it also can issue non-immigrant visas for certain travelers to the U.S. who wish to visit, work, or study for a temporary period.
The consulate was opened in 1793. It was one of the earliest U.S. consulates, reflecting the importance of Caribbean trade to the new United States. The Consul General resides in the historic Roosevelt House, which was the local government's gift of property to the United States in 1950 as an expression of gratitude for U.S. protection during World War II.
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| Locator Map: Curacao. Credit: CIA World Factbook. |
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM CIA WORLD FACTBOOK
Originally settled by Arawak Indians, Curacao was seized by the Dutch in 1634 along with the neighboring island of Bonaire. Once the center of the Caribbean slave trade, Curacao was hard hit economically by the abolition of slavery in 1863. Its prosperity (and that of neighboring Aruba) was restored in the early 20th century with the construction of the Isla Refineria to service the newly discovered Venezuelan oil fields. In 1954, Curacao and several other Dutch Caribbean possessions were reorganized as the Netherlands Antilles, part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In referenda in 2005 and 2009, the citizens of Curacao voted to become a self-governing country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The change in status became effective in October 2010 with the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles.
