The No Limit Soldiers are an

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

group and street gang from Curaçao.

Origin

The No Limit Soldiers find their origins in the impoverished neighborhood of Koraal Specht in

Willemstad Willemstad ( , ; ; en, William Town, italic=yes) is the capital city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was the capital of the Netherlands Antilles pr ...

, Curaçao. In analogy with other Caribbean nations, certain neighborhoods in Curaçao suffers from high poverty rate. Curaçao's close proximity with

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, which is a known hiding place for Colombian crime groups, offers a way out for people living in the impoverished suburbs. While young Dutch Antilleans have a history for being used as drug mules, more organized criminal groups such as the No Limit Soldiers evolved from local street gangs.

Activities

The gang is involved in high-intensity drug trafficking operations into the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Since the Netherlands has a large Afro-Curaçaoan community, cells of the gang have sprung up in cities like

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

. Members from Curaçao cooperate with gang members living in the

to smuggle

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

they obtain from Colombian as well as Jamaican businesspartners into major Dutch cities. From there on it is distributed to smaller dealers. Another major activity of the gang are contract killings. The gang is known for operating murder-for-hire squads that are used to eliminate rival drug trafficking operations in Curaçao as well as in the Netherlands. Colombian crime groups as well as criminal organizations from the Dutch ''

Penose Organized crime in the Netherlands, sometimes called penose (Dutch: ''penoze'') is the organised criminal underbelly in Amsterdam and other major cities. Penose usually means the organizations formed by criminals of Dutch descent. It is a slang ...

'' are known for doing business with the Afro-Curaçaoan gang in the committing of contract killings. The gang is alleged to be involved in assassinations and have been connected with the murder of Curaçaoan politician

Helmin Wiels Helmin Magno Wiels (9 December 1958 – 5 May 2013) was a leftist politician, anti-corruption activist and social worker from Curaçao. He served as a chairman of Sovereign People (the largest political party in the Estates after the October 2012 ...

References

{{Authority control Crime in Curaçao Gangs in the Netherlands Street gangs Organized crime groups in Europe