An item referred to M/A Caracas reporting that Venezuelan army and navy officers were deep concerned about the vulnerability of Aruba and Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. The J.I.C. commented that this was caused by the great volume of ship movements in Venezuelan waters passing via Aruba and Curacao. Aruba was a real target due her large oil refineries and lacking guarded sea and air approaches. A passing submarine could set all on fire with just an incendiary shells or torpeding the principal power plant standing on deep water.(1)
Note
1. On 16 February 1942 was Aruba attacked by a German submarine U-165 and several ships like the Oranjestad torpedoed and sunk and at Curacao the tanker Rafaela by the U-67
Source
Map Room Papers (Roosevelt Administration), 1942 - 1945. U.S. Joint Intelligence Committee. Daily summary No. 9 dated 19 December 1941.
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