Africa

DR Congo Repatriates Americans Spared Death Penalty Over Failed Coup

APR 9 2025·Updated APR 10 2025

Story

Above: Marcel Malanga (C) sits among other accused of a failed coup attempt at the Ndolo Prison in Kinshasa on June 7, 2024. Image credit: Arsene Mpiana/AFP via Getty Images

The Facts

Three U.S. citizens, initially sentenced to death in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for their involvement in a failed May 2024 coup attempt, have been transferred to U.S. custody after their sentences were commuted to life in prison.
Reuters
Al Jazeera
Marcel Malanga (21), Tyler Thompson Jr (21), and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun (36) were among dozens convicted for participating in an armed attack on the presidential palace led by opposition member Christian Malanga, who was killed in the incident.
US News & World Report
The Times of India
The transfer occurred following meetings between DRC President Tshisekedi and U.S. President Donald Trump's senior Africa adviser, Massad Boulos, amid ongoing negotiations between the two countries regarding mineral resources and security cooperation.
Africanews
MSN
The DRC, which holds over $20 trillion worth of mineral resources—much of it still untapped—including key minerals such as cobalt and coltan, is seeking U.S. security support to fight M23 rebels in the country's east, where violence has escalated since January.
Dw.Com
FOX News
According to Congolese government spokesperson Tina Salama, Kinshasa suspended all contracts and lobbying proposals concluded or made with U.S. institutions, companies, or specialized U.S. agencies in favor of "direct exchanges" with the U.S. administration.
Critical Threats
Plenglish
The Congolese presidency described the prisoner transfer as a means of strengthening judicial diplomacy and international cooperation between the two nations, though specific details about how the sentences will be served in the U.S. were not immediately disclosed.
Yahoo! News
CNN

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

The DRC's decision to transfer the Americans is a smart move to secure much-needed security backing against the rebels while diversifying the minerals sector away from Chinese dominance. Kinshasa's move and the strategic foresight of the Trump administration are therefore poised to advance both U.S. interests and promote peace and development in the DRC.

Africanews

BBC News

Narrative B

With the murky deal that led to the prisoner transfer, the DRC is submitting to the Trump administration and trading away its resources and dignity to restore security and stability in the country, something Kinshasa itself is unable to do. It is not without irony that the United States, of all countries, is now supposed to provide stability after the coup was led by a U.S.-based DRC politician.