3 CIA officials arrested in Congo botched coup

Three Americans have been arrested in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for their alleged involvement in a failed coup attempt. The men were apprehended following a shootout in the capital, Kinshasa, and are believed to be CIA operatives, though the US government has denied any official involvement. Video footage circulating on social media shows […]

Three Americans have been arrested in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for their alleged involvement in a failed coup attempt.

The men were apprehended following a shootout in the capital, Kinshasa, and are believed to be CIA operatives, though the US government has denied any official involvement.

Video footage circulating on social media shows two of the arrested men, thought to be Americans, pleading for mercy as they are surrounded by Congolese forces.

 The men appeared bloodied and battered, sitting on the ground after the failed coup attempt, a Daily Mail report said.

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The US Ambassador to the DRC, Lucy Tamlyn, expressed shock and concern over the events. “I am shocked by the events this morning and very worried by the reports of American citizens allegedly being involved,” she posted on X (formerly Twitter). “Rest assured that we are cooperating with authorities in DRC to the fullest extent possible, as they investigate these criminal acts and hold accountable any American citizen involved,” she added. 

The DRC military identified the coup leader as Christian Malanga, a 41-year-old US-educated former refugee who had become a naturalised American.

Malanga, along with his son Marcel, was among those arrested by the military.

A passport reportedly seized from one of the Americans bore the name Benjamin Zalman-Polun, a 36-year-old from Maryland with a background as a cannabis entrepreneur. Zalman-Polun was previously linked to Malanga.

The attempted coup took place near the offices of President Felix Tshisekedi in Kinshasa. General Sylvain Ekenge, a spokesman for the DRC military, announced on national television that the coup attempt had been thwarted and that around 50 individuals, including three Americans, were arrested and are currently undergoing interrogation.

Footage showed heavily armed paramilitaries, including individuals with US flags on their uniforms, arriving at the president’s office in the Palais de la Nation. The group, reportedly comprising several nationalities, included a naturalised British subject who was the second-in-command.

The coup attempt targeted the homes of key government figures, including Economy Minister Vital Kamerhe and Defence Minister Jean-Pierre Bemba, but failed to locate the residences.

The arrests of the Americans and the failed coup attempt underscore the ongoing instability and geopolitical tensions in the DRC and the broader region.