Some situations are too easy to read. On 8 April, the Democratic Republic
of the Congo (DRC) handed over to US custody three US citizens jailed over
a coup attempt, following high-level talks in Kinshasa between Massad
Boulos, US State Department senior advisor for Africa and Trump’s
son-in-law’s father, and DRC President Félix Tshisekedi, on [...]
The post DRC Hands Over U.S. Citizens Jailed Over Failed Coup appeared
first on African Stream.
https://africanstream.media/drc-hands-over-u-s-citizens-jailed-over-failed-coup/Artikel ansehen
Zusammenfassung ansehen
DRC Hands Over U.S. Citizens Jailed Over Failed CoupSome situations are too easy to read.
On 8 April, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) handed over to US custody three US citizens jailed over a coup attempt, following high-level talks in Kinshasa between Massad Boulos, US State Department senior advisor for Africa and Trump’s son-in-law’s father, and DRC President Félix Tshisekedi, on mining and security deals.
Tshisekedi spokesperson Tina Salama said commuting the death sentences and releasing Tyler Thompson Jr, Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, and Marcel Malanga ‘shows that the collaboration and cooperation between the two states is growing stronger and stronger.’
But make no mistake: This wasn’t justice. It was negotiation. Washington wanted its men back, Kinshasa wanted a security guarantee and Congo’s minerals were the price.
Over the past few months, the DRC has attempted to win the Trump administration’s attention following the M23 militia group rapidly seizing mineral-rich eastern DRC territories beginning in January, displacing more than 700,000 people and k*lling at least 8,500, as of late February. However, countries like the United States have had their hands in the three-decade-long war over the DRC’s estimated $24 trillion in mineral reserves. Just in 2024, a US court ruled against former child miners who accused five US tech companies—Apple, Dell, Google, Microsoft and Tesla—of supporting child labour. Further, in 2024, news reports said the US considered removing sanctions off Israeli mining magnate Dan Gertler, who reportedly earns $200,000 daily in mining royalties.
Washington has helped destabilise the Congo for decades, first by orchestrating the assassination of its Pan-Africanist leader and first prime minister, Patrice Lumumba (1925-61), and then by propping up Western-aligned leader Mobutu Sese Seko (1930-97). Meanwhile, US allies Rwanda and Uganda both arm and train the destabilising M23 militia.
Sourceshttps://www.reuters.com/world/three-americans-jailed-over-failed-congo-coup-are-now-us-custody-us-diplomats-2025-04-08https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/02/africa/americans-death-sentence-commuted-drc-intl/index.html https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/01/drc-president-tshisekedi-must-halt-plans-to-carry-out-mass-executions/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/2/dr-congo-spares-three-convicted-us-coup-accomplices-of-capital-punishmenthttps://www.newsweek.com/trumps-mineral-deals-could-bring-peace-congo-opinion-2048698https://www.caritas.org/2010/02/six-million-dead-in-congos-war/https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violence-democratic-republic-congohttps://reporting.unhcr.org/operational/situations/democratic-republic-congo-situationhttps://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/over-8-500-people-killed-since-january-in-fighting-in-eastern-democratic-republic-of-congo/3495683https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/02/us/politics/dan-gertler-biden-congo-sanctions.htmlhttps://abcnews.go.com/International/us-court-absolves-top-tech-companies-congos-child/story?id=107839639https://www.reuters.com/world/us-exploring-limited-easing-sanctions-israeli-billionaire-dan-gertler-2024-05-16The post
DRC Hands Over U.S. Citizens Jailed Over Failed Coup appeared first on
African Stream.
