BaileyPark31
Love, Peace, Health, and Wealth
Isn't this what the wyte boiz from twitter were planning on doing in Haiti 
Foiled coup attempt in Congo DR: American mercenaries arrested
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Utah man declined $100K offer to travel to Congo on 'security job' that was covert coup attempt
The friend of a prominent Congolese opposition leader’s son said he turned down a six-figure offer to travel there as part of the family’s security detail in what turned out to be a failed coup attempt.
apnews.com
Utah man declined $100K offer to travel to Congo on ‘security job’ that was covert coup attempt
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Daniel Gonzalez poses for a photograph Friday, May 24, 2024, in Magna, Utah. Gonzalez, the friend of a 21-year-old from Utah arrested in Congo this week for his alleged involvement in his father’s failed effort to overthrow the government in Kinshasa, said he had turned down a six-figure offer to come on the trip as part of the family’s security detail. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
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Daniel Gonzalez poses for a photograph Friday, May 24, 2024, in Magna, Utah. Gonzalez, the friend of a 21-year-old from Utah arrested in Congo this week for his alleged involvement in his father’s failed effort to overthrow the government in Kinshasa, said he had turned down a six-figure offer to come on the trip as part of the family’s security detail. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
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Christian Malanga, president of the United Congolese Party, attends seminars discussing Africa’s future in the global economy at the Spencer Fox Eccles Business building at the University of Utah on Oct. 20, 2014 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Malanga, the alleged leader, was killed Sunday, May 19, 2024 after resisting arrest, the Congolese army said. (Scott G Winterton/The Deseret News via AP)
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This undated photo provided by Miranda Thompson, shows her stepson Tyler Thompson, 21, of West Jordan, Utah, who has been identified as one of the Americans reportedly involved in a foiled coup plot in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. (Miranda Thompson via AP)
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This undated photo provided by Miranda Thompson, shows her stepson Tyler Thompson, 21, of West Jordan, Utah, who has been identified as one of the Americans reportedly involved in a foiled coup plot in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. (Miranda Thompson via AP)
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Congolese security forces secure the streets of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Sunday May 19, 2024, after Congo’s army said it has “foiled a coup” and arrested the perpetrators, including several foreigners, following a shootout between armed men in military uniform and guards of a close ally of Congo’s president that left three people dead in the capital, Kinshasa. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)
BY HANNAH SCHOENBAUM
Updated 9:14 PM EDT, May 24, 2024
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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The friend of a prominent Congolese opposition leader’s son said he turned down a six-figure offer to travel there from the U.S. as part of the family’s security detail in what turned out to be a failed coup attempt.
Marcel Malanga, the 21-year-old son of eccentric coup leader Christian Malanga, was detained by Congolese forces Sunday morning, along with a former classmate from their hometown of West Jordan, Utah, after his father was killed in a shootout while resisting arrest. His high school football teammate, Tyler Thompson, 21, was one of two other Americans arrested after an ill-fated attack on the presidential palace in Kinshasa.
Six people were dead and dozens arrested, including the three Americans, following that attack and another on the residence of a close ally of President Felix Tshisekedi, the Congolese army spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Sylvain Ekenge, said.
Daniel Gonzalez, a former teammate of the two Utah residents caught up in the foiled coup, told The Associated Press that Marcel had offered him $50,000 to $100,000 to spend four months in Congo as a security guard for his politician father. The 22-year-old FedEx worker strongly considered it, but said it lacked concrete details. He ultimately declined so he could spend the summer with his girlfriend.
“I feel really sad for Tyler and Marcel but, at the end of the day, I can just be grateful that I didn’t go because I would be stuck in the same scary situation,” Gonzalez said.
Marcel’s lucrative offer to Gonzalez sheds light on how he might have enticed Thompson to come along on what his stepmother, Miranda, said was supposed to be a vacation.
It was one of many propositions the coup leader’s American son made to former football teammates in what many described as a desperate effort to bring someone with him to Congo. He pitched the trip to some as a family vacation and still to others as a service trip to build wells in drought-stricken communities.
Although it’s unclear whether Thompson was offered money, multiple teammates told the AP that he had alluded to such incentives, telling one friend that the trip could be a “big financial opportunity.”
Thompson’s family insists he’s a political pawn who was dragged into an international conflict under false pretenses. They’ve had no direct communication with their son since the coup and are worried for his safety, his stepmother said.
Marcel’s mother, Brittney Sawyer, said her son is innocent and had followed his father.
Christian Malanga, the slain leader of the Congolese opposition political party, considered himself president of a shadow government in exile, which he called the “New Zaire.” He described himself on his website as a refugee who settled in Salt Lake City with his family in the 1990s, pursuing business opportunities in gold mining and used car sales before eventually moving back to Congo to fight for political reforms.
While campaigning for the Congolese Parliament, he claimed he was jailed and endured torturous beatings. He later published a manifesto detailing plans to reform Congo’s security services and described his movement as an effort to organize fellow emigres against the “current Congolese dictatorship government regime.”
“Marcel was pretty secretive about his dad. He didn’t even know him well until he spent last summer in Africa,” Gonzalez said. “There’s no way Marcel had any idea what he’d be getting us into or he never would’ve offered. He’s one of the best friends a person could have.”
In the early hours Sunday, Christian Malanga began livestreaming video on social media from inside the palace. He is seen with his armed son, who hastily pulls a neck gaiter over his face, looking around wide-eyed. Congo officials have not commented on how the attackers were able to get inside.
Gonzalez, of Herriman, Utah, said he had communicated with Marcel about the financial offer over Snapchat, in messages that have since disappeared, in the months leading up to the coup attempt. He was shocked to learn how the trip played out.
Marcel had told Gonzalez that his father was letting him hire a friend so he would have company during his summer abroad. He seemed excited to be able to offer such a substantial amount of money to a close friend who needed it, Gonzalez explained.
The Malangas had promised on-the-job training, full coverage of travel expenses and the chance to explore a new part of the world while making an income, he said. Marcel insisted repeatedly that it was safe, but didn’t share details about his father’s background.
Neither Gonzalez nor his mother thought the trip would be unsafe, he said, despite the U.S. State Department strongly discouraging travel to Congo — but he turned it down when his girlfriend asked him not to leave for four months.
He later saw private Snapchat videos filmed by Marcel that showed Thompson looking frightened as armed Congolese soldiers surrounded their vehicle. In Gonzalez’s final Snapchat exchange with his friend before their capture, he asked whether Thompson was OK and urged them to stay safe.
Marcel assured him that they were.
Other former football teammates, including Luke Barbee and Jaden Lalor, had heard different pitches about the trip and wondered why Marcel seemed so desperate to bring someone along. Neither could fathom their friends’ possible involvement in a violent attack.
“I consider Marcel a brother to me and Tyler a friend, and I truly believe Marcel’s father must have pressured them for his own wants,” Lalor said. “I just want them back safely.”
He's gotta be sick, knowing that he had gone he could have protected them.
I wasn't gonna do it but I better put the 
Crayola Coyote
Superstar
Africa has awaken
Cat piss martini
Veteran
should have cut off their hands.
Kinda weird seeing comments like “Africa’s awoken” or “Africa’s finally fighting back”.
I guess you’re too young to remember when hundreds of thousands of African Marxist soldiers were killing white segregationist armies from Portugal, Rhodesia, and South Africa
I don’t think that stopped. Weren’t 4 US soldiers killed in Niger a few years ago?
The current government of Niger will tell you they were there to uphold French imperialism in Africa.
I guess you’re too young to remember when hundreds of thousands of African Marxist soldiers were killing white segregationist armies from Portugal, Rhodesia, and South Africa
I don’t think that stopped. Weren’t 4 US soldiers killed in Niger a few years ago?
The current government of Niger will tell you they were there to uphold French imperialism in Africa.
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Three US citizens sentenced to death in Congo over role in failed coup
By Sonia Rolley and Jessica Donati
September 13, 20248:15 PM EDT
Updated 14 hours ago
Malanga had previously told the court that his father had threatened to kill him unless he participated.
Summary
- Three Americans sentenced to death in Congo
- They are among 37 defendants sentenced for their role in a failed coup in May
- US State Department monitoring the case, defendants can appeal
Sept 13 (Reuters) - Three U.S. citizens are among 37 defendants sentenced to death by a military court on Friday for their role in a May failed coup in Democratic Republic of Congo.
Armed men briefly occupied an office of the presidency in capital Kinshasa on May 19 before their leader, U.S.-based Congolese politician Christian Malanga, was killed by security forces.
His son, Marcel Malanga, was among the Americans on trial, along with Marcel's friend, Tyler Thompson, who played high school football with him in Utah. Both are in their 20s.
The third American, Benjamin Zalman-Polun, was a business associate of Christian Malanga.
All three were found guilty of criminal conspiracy, terrorism and other charges, and sentenced to death in a ruling read on live TV.
Malanga had previously told the court that his father had threatened to kill him unless he participated. He also told the court it was his first time visiting Congo at the invitation of his father, whom he had not seen in years.
The Americans are among some 50 people, including U.S., British, Canadian, Belgian and Congolese citizens, standing trial following the failed coup.
A total of 37 defendants were sentenced to death.
The verdict was read out under a tent in the yard of Ndolo military prison on the outskirts of Kinshasa. The defendants were seated in front of the judge, wearing blue and yellow prison-issued tops.
A gavel and a block is pictured at the George Glazer Gallery antique store in this illustration picture taken in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., August 18, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
The trial began in July.
In Washington, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said embassy staff had attended the proceedings and would continue to follow developments closely.
"We understand that the legal process in the DRC allows for defendants to appeal the court's decision," he told a briefing.
The 37 defendants include Belgian-Congolese citizen Jean-Jacques Wondo. Wondo's family released video messages addressed to Congo President Félix Tshisekedi ahead of the trial to ask for his release.
"I beg you, intervene, he is innocent," Nathalie Kayembe Wondo, his wife, said in the message.
Relatives of Marcel Malanga and Thompson did not respond to requests for comment.
Marcel Malanga's mother, Brittney Sawyer, has previously said her son is innocent.
Thompson's stepmother, Miranda Thompson, has previously said her stepson travelled to Congo on vacation to explore the world.
Thompson is feeling lonely and isolated in prison, according to the fundraising site that his family set up to support his defense.
The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.
Additional reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Writing by Jessica Donati; Editing by Alison Williams, Andrew Heavens, William Maclean and Sandra Maler
Three US citizens sentenced to death in Congo over role in failed coup
By Sonia Rolley and Jessica Donati
September 13, 20248:15 PM EDT
Updated 14 hours ago
Malanga had previously told the court that his father had threatened to kill him unless he participated.
Summary
- Three Americans sentenced to death in Congo
- They are among 37 defendants sentenced for their role in a failed coup in May
- US State Department monitoring the case, defendants can appeal
Sept 13 (Reuters) - Three U.S. citizens are among 37 defendants sentenced to death by a military court on Friday for their role in a May failed coup in Democratic Republic of Congo.
Armed men briefly occupied an office of the presidency in capital Kinshasa on May 19 before their leader, U.S.-based Congolese politician Christian Malanga, was killed by security forces.
His son, Marcel Malanga, was among the Americans on trial, along with Marcel's friend, Tyler Thompson, who played high school football with him in Utah. Both are in their 20s.
The third American, Benjamin Zalman-Polun, was a business associate of Christian Malanga.
All three were found guilty of criminal conspiracy, terrorism and other charges, and sentenced to death in a ruling read on live TV.
Malanga had previously told the court that his father had threatened to kill him unless he participated. He also told the court it was his first time visiting Congo at the invitation of his father, whom he had not seen in years.
The Americans are among some 50 people, including U.S., British, Canadian, Belgian and Congolese citizens, standing trial following the failed coup.
A total of 37 defendants were sentenced to death.
The verdict was read out under a tent in the yard of Ndolo military prison on the outskirts of Kinshasa. The defendants were seated in front of the judge, wearing blue and yellow prison-issued tops.
A gavel and a block is pictured at the George Glazer Gallery antique store in this illustration picture taken in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., August 18, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
The trial began in July.
In Washington, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said embassy staff had attended the proceedings and would continue to follow developments closely.
"We understand that the legal process in the DRC allows for defendants to appeal the court's decision," he told a briefing.
The 37 defendants include Belgian-Congolese citizen Jean-Jacques Wondo. Wondo's family released video messages addressed to Congo President Félix Tshisekedi ahead of the trial to ask for his release.
"I beg you, intervene, he is innocent," Nathalie Kayembe Wondo, his wife, said in the message.
Relatives of Marcel Malanga and Thompson did not respond to requests for comment.
Marcel Malanga's mother, Brittney Sawyer, has previously said her son is innocent.
Thompson's stepmother, Miranda Thompson, has previously said her stepson travelled to Congo on vacation to explore the world.
Thompson is feeling lonely and isolated in prison, according to the fundraising site that his family set up to support his defense.
The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.
Additional reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Writing by Jessica Donati; Editing by Alison Williams, Andrew Heavens, William Maclean and Sandra Maler
If the US government cared they could easily get them released.
Officially it wasn’t US business and it doesn’t look like they’re high enough on the food chain to possess any intel the US wants to recover and they don’t have any intel to offer the Congo.
Kunty McPhuck
Scust Szn has Returned
When it really comes out this was really some long winded op to try and get China out of DRC.
Yep.
This is sad but they are expendable in the eyes of the Govt because, as @CodeBlaMeVi said, this wasn’t official business.
Unless there’s some other off the books secret mission (and that shyt pops off all the time) and they are broken out at 3am or something…
That’s a life-changing experience for your azz.
Gunz&Butta
All Star
When you shoot at the throne, you better not miss
