The home port of Scientology’s Freewinds cruise ship is Curacao. The island is a sex tourism destination. Sex trafficking and forced human labor occur in Curacao and are well documented. Why does Scientology chose such an island as its home port? The answers are in our article.

The home port of Scientology’s Freewinds cruise ship is Curacao. The island is a sex tourism destination and is home to the Caribbean’s largest brothel Campo Alegre. Sex trafficking and forced human labor occur in Curacao and are well documented.

That the Church of Scientology chose such an island as its home port is disturbing, particularly in view of Scientology’s practice of protecting the rapists and child molesters in both its Sea Org and public membership.

Scientologist and alleged serial rapist Danny Masterson now figures prominently in the story of Scientology, the Freewinds, and Curacao.

The LAPD has been investigating Scientologist Danny Masterson on accusations of  multiple rape charges for three years. Tony Ortega just broke the story that the LAPD wants to interview a key Scientology official related to the Masterson investigation. However, Scientology appears to have shipped this official to the Freewinds which is permanently based outside of US jurisdiction as part of the Church’s policy.

The Freewinds thus becomes part of an apparent attempt on the part of Scientology to engage in obstruction of justice. The ship has also served as a prison ship for Scientology’s Sea Org members since it was placed into service by the Church in 1986.

The Masterson case has been impeded by do-nothing Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey. She refuses to formally charge Masterson, this despite what Yashar Ali has written of the overwhelming evidence the LAPD handed over to Lacey’s office.

#ByeJackie is the new hashtag for Los Angeles voters done with Lacey’s refusal to act on so many key issues. We highly recommend Jessica’s Pishko’s article: How District Attorney Jackie Lacey Failed Los Angeles.

SEX TRAFFICKING AND FORCED HUMAN LABOR IN CURACAO

Because Curacao’s economy is, in part, dependent upon sex trafficking and forced human labor, Curacao and the Church of Scientology understand each other needs perfectly well. From the US State Department report 2018 Trafficking in Persons Report – Curaçao:

As reported over the past five years, Curaçao is a transit and destination country for women, children, and men subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor. Vulnerable populations include foreign and Curaçaoan women and girls in unregulated prostitution, as well as migrant workers from other Caribbean countries, South America, India, and China in the construction, landscaping, minimarket, retail, and restaurant industries. Due to the deteriorating situation in Venezuela, legal and illegal migration to Curaçao increased, leaving many vulnerable to trafficking, including women working illegally at bars and brothels.

The home port of the Scientology ship Freewinds has been Curacao since 1986. For decades the Freewinds has run a regular route between the ABC islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. Prostitution is legal in the Netherland Antilles islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. However, the prostitutes have to be foreigners. With the collapse of nearby Venezuela, the increase in sex trafficking and forced human labor in the islands frequented by the Freewinds has risen dramatically. A raid last year by authorities freed hundreds of trafficked people in these islands. The Church of Scientology has long engaged in efforts to paint itself as a champion of human rights even as it turns a blind eye to the sex trafficking and forced human labor going on in the Freewinds ports in Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao.

The Church of Scientology has never once spoken out against the sex trafficking in Curacao as it does not wish to offend the port there it needs to ply its own filthy trade. For example, Scientology has never once spoken out against Campo Alegre, the open air brothel on Curacao. Campo Alegre is the largest brothel in the Caribbean and serves as a magnet for sex trafficking. Where are the Scientology marches in the streets of Curacao demanding human rights and freedom for the victims of sex trafficking in Curacao?

Sex slavery results in a a fortune each year flowing into Curacao’s sex tourism industry. Scientology ignores this completely and spends money for port services on this sex tourist-sex trafficking island of Curacao. Why does the Church of Scientology use a sex tourism-sex trafficking island as the home port of the Freewinds? Part of the answer is that Curacao has for decades served as as a tax haven for the Church of Scientology.

The Scientology ship Freewinds is crewed by Sea Org members who are virtual prisoners on the ship and are forced into 100+ hour work weeks for little or no pay. Scientology has no moral ground to complain about the human rights abuses on Curacao when Scientology exists in large measure due to the utter exploitation of its Sea Org members. Many Sea Org members are brought in from Russia, Eastern Europe, and Mexico and promised a better life in America. However, these people soon are cleaning toilets, working as maids, gardeners, and manual laborers for fifty cents an hour or less. The same situation occurs in Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao where forced human labor occurs.

It seems that Scientology and Curacao have agreed to remain silent about each others dirty secrets.

THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SCIENTOLOGISTS

The International Association of Scientologists (IAS) — Scientology’s $1.5 billion dollar unregulated slush fund — was set up in Curacao in 1984. IAS monies were long managed by Dutch tax lawyer George Praag of Curacao Trust Management. Much of the IAS money appears to be in the Grand Cayman and may be in Golub International Loan LTD 1 accounts. 

In recent years Praag has moved into the world of online gaming. This is interesting as Scientologist and alleged $1.8 billion dollar Ponzi scheme operator David Gentile became involved in online gaming with the Chernaya sisters — the daughters of billionaire Russian mobster Michael Cherney — about the same time as George Praag. We documented this in our recent coverage of Gentile’s alleged ties to Russian organized crime. We are closely monitoring the story of David Gentile and his GPB Capital Holdings and its descent into what appears to be a total disaster.

We are investigating possible ties between George Praag, Michael Cherney, GPB Capital Holdings, and the IAS.

The US State Department 2018 report on Sex Trafficking in Curacao as reproduced in a UN report. Note: Please hover your cursor over the document to invoke the page up/page down controls at the bottom of the page frame: