On May 19th, 2024, there was an attempted coup in Kinshasa, DRC, against President Tshisekedi. Men outfitted in military fatigues and armed with submachine guns and rifles attacked the residence of a federal legislator and breached the Palais de la Nation (the president’s official residence). Of the 50 people arrested, three were United States citizens; the leader of the coup was Christian Malanga, a politician and former military officer based in the US. One of the US nationals, Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, is a suspected Mossad agent whom Malanga met with in 2015 when he visited the Israeli Military; the two are pictured in front of Golan Spy Shop in Tel Aviv. This involvement exemplifies the long term onslaught of destabilization efforts against socialist and Pan-Africanist formations in Africa on the part of Israel and American (as well as French and British) Intelligence/Military, often via assassination or coup; another pertinent example being the gruesome assassination of the DRC’s beloved and revered Patrice Lumumba.

Some, like Albert Malukisa Nkuku, a professor at the Catholic University of the Congo, questioned the objective of the coup as the locations it targeted appeared more aesthetic than tactical: “Why start an attack at the residence of Vital Kamerhe and already lose a large quantity of munitions before ending up at the Palace of the Nation?” Both Kinshasa airports were left untouched, and the Palais de la Nation is more of a symbolic residence rather than where the President is likely to be found. This coup gives precedence for the current DRC government to consolidate its power. President Tshisekedi’s December election has been accused of lacking legitimacy and being sponsored by outside interests rather than representing populist interests. The coup has led to the postponement of an internal parliamentary vote amid divisions within Tshisekedi’s ruling coalition. Paul Nantulya, a researcher with the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, stated, “A coup – no matter how shambolic, disorganised and silly – is a powerful weapon in the hands of a paranoid regime…It gives you a blank check to switch on all the draconian pieces of legislation and law, to declare martial law, to ban NGO and civil society activity, curtail movement and free speech at your whim, sow fear in opponents, and beat everyone into silence.”

For context, the DRC has a long history of violence and power grabs tied to its natural resources, which are critical to global supply chains. Founded in 2012, M23, the ‘March 23 Movement,’ is a paramilitary group based in the eastern regions of DRC bordering Uganda and Rwanda. A member of the Congo River Alliance, a coalition of rebel groups in eastern DRC, M23 along with the Rwanda Defence Force, Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) have left over 7.8 million people internally displaced in eastern DRC (the highest figure on record), 28 million face food insecurity with nearly  million at emergency levels; it is hard to comprehend what these numbers mean and feel like. The violence appears perpetual and pointless, but the weapons and monetary motive must have some kind of source, however multivalent. Rwanda has provided direct military support to M23, including troops and weapons. The Rwandan government, post-independence from Belgium and the 1994 genocide, has been aided by the US; this aid is often used to maintain neocolonial foreign policy through exploitative trade deals and resource extraction by empowering corrupt domestic parties. The US maintains close ties with the Rwandan Patriotic Front, including military training.

Interestingly, on June 27, the foreign ministers of the DRC and Rwanda are set to sign a Critical Minerals for Security and Peace agreement brokered by the US. This deal was initiated by President Tshisekedi (in power during the attempted coup) and was motivated by the resurgence of the M23 militia. The US’ offer to broker ‘peace and stability’ between the two nations through increased military and economic involvement fortifies and deepens the neo-imperial hegemonic position of the US in DRC and surrounding territories. However, while on the face of it, this may seem positive for the people of Rwanda, it risks perpetuating the ‘resource curse,’ wherein the ‘peace for exploitation’ bargain is maintained and reaffirmed. It is a suspicious coincidence that M23’s resurgence has occurred at the same time as a global surge in demand for these materials. As Al Jazeera reports, “This “peace deal” risks becoming another instrument of neo-colonialism. As political philosopher Kwame Nkrumah warned, neo-colonialism allows foreign powers to dominate not through direct occupation, but via economic means. In this context, foreign capital is used not to build, but to extract – deepening the divide between resource-rich African nations and wealthy consumer economies.” The US and Europe already benefit and have benefitted enourmously from the exploitation of Africa and Congo whether through the slave trade, colonial extraction, or neocolonial interdependance. In alliance with Urban African Elite, bourgeois and petit bourgeoisie, or chieftains caught in cyclical tribalist violence from colonial borders, foreign powers are able to construct and maintain an increasingly unlivable Africa. 

DRC and Rwanda-backed M23 were meant to finalize the agreement by August 18th, but this did not come to be. Qatar, which is mediating the talks, has expressed that there is a willingness on both sides to continue the process, as they have already signed the deal aligned with the Washington agreement. However, “The M23 had insisted on seeking its own ceasefire deal with Kinshasa, saying the DRC-Rwanda deal signed in Washington in June left out various "problems" that still needed to be addressed.”(france24). The terms of the Washington deal have yet to be implemented, and there are plans for the Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi to meet in the coming months. There are suspicions of side deals after Trump boasted of securing mineral wealth in Congo, and “Tshisekedi said in April he had discussed a deal for access to the DRC's mineral wealth with US special envoy Massad Boulos.” (france24). The restoration of the Congo's eastern territory is key to the deal and one of the most important clauses in the Washington deal, as government control and stability plays a critical role in stakeholder security in Congolese resources.

Works Cited

“Armed Militia Kill Hundreds in Eastern DR Congo | UN News.” United Nations, news.un.org/en/story/2025/08/1165586.

“Congo: Jewish-American Sentenced to Death over Coup Plot Linked to Israeli Mossad.” Middle East Monitor, www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240924-congo-jewish-american-sentenced-to-death-over-coup-plot-linked-to-israeli-mossad/.

“DR Congo and M23 Rebels Miss Peace Deal Deadline but Will Continue Talks.” France 24, 19 Aug. 2025, www.france24.com/en/africa/20250819-dr-congo-and-m23-rebels-miss-peace-deal-deadline-but-will-continue-talks. 

“DR Congo and Rwanda-Backed M23 Rebels Sign Ceasefire Agreement in Qatar.” France 24, 19 July 2025, www.france24.com/en/africa/20250719-dr-congo-rwanda-backed-m23-rebels-sign-ceasefire-agreement-qatar.

Lawal, Shola. “Who Was behind the DRC’s Attempted Coup? Were Americans Involved?” Al Jazeera, 21 May 2024, www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/20/who-was-behind-the-drcs-attempted-coup-and-were-americans-involved.

Zungu, Lindani. “DRC’s Peace Deal with Rwanda Risks Swapping War for Resource Exploitation.” Al Jazeera, 26 June 2025, www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/6/26/drcs-peace-deal-with-rwanda-risks-swapping-war-for-resource-exploitation.

Cover artwork by Julian Chadwin.