2 Utah men, 1 other Americans imprisoned at the coup d’etat de Congo failing are now in police custody

Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo – three American citizens imprisoned for an attempted coup failed in the Democratic Republic of Congo are now in police custody after their convictions were commissioned last week, four American diplomats said on Tuesday and the Congolese presidency.

The agreement to be delivered the Americans was finalized while the main advisor in Africa of President Donald Trump, Massad Boulos, went to the Congo to keep meetings with President Felix Tshisekedi in the capital of Kinshasa.

Among them, Marcel Malanga, 21, a resident of Western Jordan and son of the opposition figure Christian Malanga, who led the attempted coupled coup who targeted the presidential palace in Kinshasa.

Tyler Thompson Jr., 21, 21, a friend of the youngest Malanga who flew to Utah Africa for what his family thought they were free vacation, and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 36

In September 2024, a Congo military court delivered death penalties on Friday at 37 people, including Malanga, Thompson and Zalman-Polun.

The repatriation comes in the midst of negotiations between Washington and Kinshasa on security and mining. Before the trip, Trump’s special envoy for the hostage response called Tshisekedi to release the Americans.

Congo minerals, which are used in mobile phones and electric cars, are currently operated mainly by China and its mining companies.

An American source close to talks said that the three Americans would face the home accusations for their role in the coup attempt.

The United States is open to the exploration of critical mineral partnerships with the Congo, the State Department said in a statement in Reuters last month, after a Congolese senator contacted US officials to conclude a mineral security agreement.

Contribution: Jessica Donati, Sonia Rolley and Stanis Bujakera, and the Associated Press