The Albany Gazette - Belgium seeks US help in drug trafficking fight

"We need the Americans," conservative leader Bart De Wever told reporters as he and Noem toured the North Sea port. "There's work to do -- and we can only do it together."

He praised US President Donald Trump's administration, which has deployed military assets in the Caribbean to target traffickers, for "taking the lead" in combatting drug cartels in the Americas.

"This very good news for us," De Wever said, calling for stepped-up cooperation and information-sharing between Europe and the United States "because the drug criminals know no borders".

He suggested that a security partnership launched last year between Europe's three biggest ports -- Antwerp, Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Hamburg in Germany -- could potentially be extended to Latin American ports as well.

"With US help we could impose these security norms on countries of origin too -- that would be a huge help," he said.

Noem confirmed the United States would continue to partner with Belgian authorities on countering "transnational criminal organisations that are killing our people, that are poisoning our citizens and our countries".

Cooperation would involve data sharing and working with shipping companies to toughen security measures, she said.

Belgium has become a focal point for drug gangs, with cocaine seizures at Antwerp hitting a record 116 tonnes in 2023.

But the amount of cocaine seized there fell by over 50 percent last year, to 44 tonnes, in part thanks to authorities ramping up the deployment of scanners and bolstering checks.

(K.Lee--TAG)