The death sentences commanded 3 Americans on a coup in Congo Failive

Three American citizens who were sentenced to death for an attempted coup failed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo made their condemnation for life imprisonment, according to a spokesperson for the president of the central African country.

The three Americans were one of the 37 people sentenced to death last September after participating in an attack in May 2024 against the government which was broadcast live and included a firearm battle near the presidential palace.

The security forces killed the head of the coup, Christian Malanga, a minor opposition politician. But his son, Marcel Malanga, was arrested with his friend of high school Tyler Thompson and Benjamin Zalman-Polun, commercial partner of Christian Malanga.

These three men – who are all American citizens – have been distinguished and granted “individual clémence”, said Tina Salama on Tuesday, the spokesperson for the Congolese president, in a position Tuesday evening on X. There was no immediate comment from the American State Department.

The Congo has tried to recruit American support against neighboring Rwanda and a rebellious militia that Rwanda Direct and Arms, M23. Since January, M23 has torn the east of the Congo, entering large expanses of land and large cities. Thousands of civilians, soldiers and allied militias were killed in the rebellious offensive, which also left millions of people.

In an interview with the New York Times in February, Congo President Felix Tshisekedi offered in the United States a participation in the vast mineral wealth of his country, saying that such an agreement would bring to his country more security and stability. Experts agree that American pressure on Rwanda could be one of the few things that could encourage M23 to withdraw.