U.S. Indicts Guinea-Bissau’s Military Chief in Drug Case
Adam Nossiter
April 18, 2013
DAKAR, Senegal — The head of Guinea-Bissau’s armed forces, Gen. Antonio Injai, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in New York on cocaine and weapons-trafficking charges, the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan said Thursday, part of an ambitious American operation targeting some of the most powerful figures in a country long considered a major haven for drug smuggling.
According to the indictment, Mr. Injai told informants for the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, who were posing as rebels with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, that he was willing to store tons of cocaine and ship it to the United States. He is also accused of agreeing to buy weapons for the FARC, which is designated a terrorist organization by the United States. (read more)
|
Leader Ousted, Nation Is Now a Drug Haven
By ADAM NOSSITER
November 1st, 2012
The New York Times
BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau — When the army ousted the president here just months before his term was to expire, a thirst for power by the officer corps did not fully explain the offensive. But a sizable increase in drug trafficking in this troubled country since the military took over has raised suspicions that the president’s sudden removal was what amounted to a cocaine coup.
The military brass here has long been associated with drug trafficking, but the coup last spring means soldiers now control the drug racket and the country itself, turning Guinea-Bissau in the eyes of some international counternarcotics experts into a nation where illegal drugs are sanctioned at the top.
“They are probably the worst narco-state that’s out there on the continent,” said a senior Drug Enforcement Administration official in Washington, who spoke on the condition of anonymity so as not to jeopardize his work in the region. “They are a major problem.” (read more)
|
 |
| Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
|
|
UN report: Guinea-Bissau forces abducted and tortured opposition leaders after coup attempt Peter James Spielmann The Associated Press 28 November 2012Guinea-Bissau's military and intelligence forces abducted and tortured two opposition leaders after a failed attempt to overthrow the ruling junta last month, according to a United Nations report released Wednesday. The report to the Security Council by U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said that after the failure of the Oct. 21 counter-coup, Guinea-Bissau's military and intelligence services ran house-to-house searches for suspects and "abducted and tortured" opposition leaders Iancuba Djola N'djai and Sivestre Alves. Guinea-Bissau's military government subsequently denounced the beatings and denied any involvement, Ban noted. (read more)
|
UN report: Guinea-Bissau forces abducted and tortured opposition leaders after coup attempt
Peter James Spielmann
The Associated Press
28 November 2012
Guinea-Bissau's military and intelligence forces abducted and tortured two opposition leaders after a failed attempt to overthrow the ruling junta last month, according to a United Nations report released Wednesday.
The report to the Security Council by U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said that after the failure of the Oct. 21 counter-coup, Guinea-Bissau's military and intelligence services ran house-to-house searches for suspects and "abducted and tortured" opposition leaders Iancuba Djola N'djai and Sivestre Alves.
Guinea-Bissau's military government subsequently denounced the beatings and denied any involvement, Ban noted. (read more)
|
African Union calls for international involvement in coup-plagued Guinea Bissau Afriquejet 03 November 2012Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - The African Union (AU) has called for international involvement in the coup-troubled Guinea Bissau after warning that it would take concrete measures on the situation after receiving a comprehensive report. The Peace and Security Council (PSC), which met in Addis Ababa Friday, called for international involvement in Guinea Bissau after the latest coup attempt, which occurred on 21 October, when a military unit attacked an air force base. Although the AU did not specify action it intended to take, the continental organ warned it would take the concrete measures after receiving a report on the situation from the AU Commission President, on the attack on Bissalanca air force. (read more)
|
Guinea Bissau: Beatings and intimidation create a climate of fear Vibe Ghana October 25, 2012A climate of fear has fallen over Guinea Bissau since Tuesday when two government critics were badly beaten and soldiers conducted searches for people they suspect were involved in an attack on a military barracks early Sunday. The government claims the attack on the barracks of an elite army unit based on the outskirts of the capital, Bissau, was an attempted coup by supporters of the previous Prime Minister Carlos Gomez Júnior, who was himself ousted by a coup in April this year. “It is wholly unacceptable that civilians are being terrorised because they happen to live in an area where the army suspects that supporters of the former government are hiding,” said Noel Kututwa, Amnesty International’s southern Africa director. (read more)
|
Guinea Bissau: Guebuza Committed to Peace in Guinea-Bissau All Africa 16 October 2012Maputo — Mozambican President Armando Guebuza, speaking in his capacity as chairperson of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), declared in Brussels on Monday that he is willing to continue working to establish a climate of peace in Guinea-Bissau. He was speaking at a meeting with CPLP ambassadors in the Belgian capital on the eve of the European Development Days (EDD), a two day event due to begin on Tuesday. The crisis in Guinea-Bissau, where the legitimate government was deposed in a military coup in April, was the main theme of the meeting. "We stand beside the people of Guinea-Bissau, and we shall continue to do all in our power so that the difficulties they face today may be overcome, and they return to living in peace", Guebuza said. (read more)
|
Country Profile Guinea-Bissau
By Genocide Watch
3 May 2012
Since independence in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has endured military revolts, a civil war and several coups, the latest one in April 2012.
After a long struggle for independence, spearheaded by the Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), Guinea Bissau became independent from Portugal in 1974. The left-wing post-independence leader Luis Cabral became the first president of the country. Under his rule, several thousand local soldiers who had fought along with the Portuguese army against the PAIGC guerrillas were slaughtered. The most notorious massacre took place in Bissorã.
In 1980, Luis Cabral was overthrown by a coup led by Joao Vieira, who would lead the country until 1998. In 1994 Cabral was elected president in Guinea Bissau’s first free elections. In 1998, an army uprising ousted the president, triggering a civil war between the government (backed by neighboring states) and rebels.
Following foreign mediation, the war ended and presidential elections were held in 2000. However, this did not mean the end of political instability. The winner of the 2000 election, Kumba lala was ousted in a bloodless military coup in September 2003. New presidential elections were held in June 2005 and were won by former president Vieira. His rule was abruptly ended in March 2009, when he was assassinated by soldiers, several hours after his old rival, General Batista Tagme Na Waie, was killed. Following these assassinations, Malam Bacai Sanha took power. He died in January 2012 in a French hospital.
The latest military coup took place in April 2012, just before the second round of voting in presidential elections was scheduled to take place. Both the Interim President Raimundo Pereira and outgoing Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior - who was the frontrunner in the presidential poll- were detained.
The coup leaders claimed that Carlos Gomes intended to reduce the size of the army. The coup was largely opposed by the international community and Guinea Bissau was suspended from the African Union. On April 27, 2012, the coup leaders bowed to ECOWAS pressure and the President and Prime Minister were freed. However, the country is still under military rule.
The ongoing political instability has undermined the economy and made Guinea Bissau a transhipment point for Latin American drugs. The coastline has numerous off-shore islands that are ideal landing places for small planes to load drugs shipped by boat from Latin America. The drugs are then flown to Europe. The government and military receive bribes to ignore this drug trafficking.
Because of the dangers related to military rule and drug lords, Genocide Watch considers Guinea-Bissau to be at stage 6, potential massacres.
|
|