Americans in botched Congo coup returned to US amid Trump mineral talks

Three Americans who were facing execution in the Democratic Republic of Congo for a botched coup attempt were returned to U.S. custody amid progress in talks to grant Americans access to rare minerals in the country.

U.S. citizens Marcel Malanga, 22, Tyler Thompson, 22, and Benjamin Zalman-Polun, 37, were all instrumental in an attempt to topple the government and assassinate the president of the Central African country in May 2024, federal prosecutors said. The failed coup resulted in their capture and a Congolese military court sentenced them to be executed.

Last week, President Felix Tshisekedi – the target of the coup – commuted their sentences to life in prison and delivered the trio into U.S. custody on Tuesday. American prosecutors on Wednesday unveiled charges against them for their role in the coup attempt that carry a life sentence. But even life in prison on U.S. soil could represent a dramatic improvement in circumstances for the three men.

The delivery of the trio into U.S. custody follows high-level talks between American and Congolese officials over security and mining deals. Congo holds some of the largest deposits of rare metals essential for phones, electric cars and computers.

But the rare deposits have driven yearslong battles for "blood minerals," human rights advocates say, and created one of the most dire humanitarian disasters in the world. Congo hopes the U.S. will help secure the war-ravaged country and the deal to hand over the American coup participants could help smooth the path to American intervention. 

Officials finalized the deal when President Donald Trump's senior Africa adviser, Massad Boulos, traveled to Congo to hold meetings with President Tshisekedi in the capital Kinshasa. U.S. officials are exploring critical minerals partnerships, the State Department said last month, after Congo proposed a minerals-for-security deal. Congo's minerals are currently exploited predominantly by China and its mining companies.

"This shows that the collaboration and cooperation between the two states is growing stronger and stronger," said Tina Salama, Tshisekedi's spokesperson.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment. The State Department said in an email that bringing home Americans was a top priority for the administration.

Malanga, Thompson and Polun’s delivery into U.S. custody comes as federal prosecutors in Utah unveiled an indictment charging them – and another American, Joseph Peter Moesser, 67 – with crimes including conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, conspiracy to bomb government buildings and conspiracy to murder and kidnap persons in a foreign country.

The four men face up to life in prison if convicted but the case on American soil still represents a degree of mercy for the men involved in the coup attempt led by Malanga’s father. The coup saw insurrectionists storm the Kinshasa equivalent of the White House. Several people were killed before the rebels were overpowered by security forces.

Prosecutors said Malanga, Thompson and Polun will make an initial court appearance in Brooklyn before they are expected to be taken to Utah, where they planned and trained for the mission, according to the indictment. All four are expected to appear in federal court in Salt Lake City, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Attorneys for the four could not be reached for comment.

When did the coup attempt happen?

The coup attempt that the four participated in was led by Malanga’s father, Christian Malanga, a native of the Central African country who lived in Salt Lake City from about 1998 to 2006, according to the FBI. He had his son Marcel then.

After returning to Congo in 2006, the elder Malanga joined the military and became politically active. He became leader of the United Congolese Party and in 2017 proclaimed himself president of the New Zaire Government in Exile, the FBI said.

The Americans became directly involved in the elder Malanga’s attempts to take over Congo starting in 2023, according to the indictment, which ultimately culminated in the failed coup attempt in May 2024.

Armed rebel forces wearing military fatigues attacked the Palais de la Nation – President Félix Tshisekedi’s residence – and the private residence for the Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy on May 19 of that year. Rebels live-streamed and recorded the attack on video. 

Recordings show the elder Malanga threatening the president, saying, “I know one thing, Felix you’re out…we’re coming for you.”

At least six people were killed before government forces overpowered the rebels. According to the FBI, the dead included the elder Malanga, age 41; two police officers defending the economy minister’s residence; and one civilian.

The attempt was brief, the FBI said. Rebels began storming the Palais de la Nation at around 5 a.m. and the elder Malanga was killed and his troops captured by around 10 a.m. 

Malanga, Thompson and Polun were among some 50 people, including U.S., British, Canadian, Belgian and Congolese citizens, who stood trial last year following the botched attempt to overthrow the government in May.

A total of 37 defendants were sentenced to death by a military court in September, including the American trio.

Malanga said at the trial his father had threatened to kill them if they did not obey his orders. His mother posted a statement on Facebook saying the family needed time and did not wish to comment.

Trying to be 'heroes'

The Americans weren’t just grunts but key operatives in the coup attempt who stood to gain by replacing the Democratic Republic of Congo with the New Zaire government, prosecutors said.

According to the indictment, the younger Malanga called himself the “Chief of Staff of the Zaire army;” Polun was the elder Malanga’s chief of staff; Thompson was a drone specialist; and Moesser was an explosives specialist. Among their schemes was a plan to attach a TF-19 Wasp Flamethrower to a drone and use it to set people aflame, court papers say. 

The younger Malanga began his involvement in July 2023 when he began attempting to acquire drones capable of dropping bombs for the rebel attack, the indictment says. In early 2024, he and Thompson began training with rifles and pistols, court filings say. The two were high school friends and football teammates, court papers say. 

Polun, who worked a construction job with Malanga, also became involved then as a recruiter, offering prospective soldiers $50,000 to join up, according to the indictment. He hoped to become a finance minister for the New Zaire government, court papers say. 

Malanga publicized his efforts on social media. Court filings show he posted pictures of himself in military fatigues on social media captioned “#newzaire;” he posted recruitment offers saying, “If you want to make $50-100k message me (warriors only);” and he posted photos of scores of guns with captions including “war ready.”

Moesser, the eldest of the group, was an old friend of the elder Malanga’s and said he planned to provide sniper support in the coup attempt, court filings say. Video taken by Malanga also shows Moesser explaining how to build bombs, the FBI said. 

FBI accounts of recruitment pitches Polun made over dinner at restaurants in Utah say that he told prospective soldiers that they would become “heroes,” saving a country where “cops are destroying markets and women are being raped,” court filings say.

What’s going on in Congo?

The Democratic Republic of Congo is a country of 115 million people in Central Africa that is home to over 200 distinct ethnic groups, according to the CIA’s World Factbook. 

It spans a territory that would cover from New Mexico to North Dakota and Salt Lake City to Minneapolis. French is the official language of the former Belgian colony but over 200 indigenous languages are spoken, the CIA said.

Violence and political turmoil have marred the decades since liberation in 1960. Tshisekedi’s first election in 2018 – though disputed – represented the first peaceful transfer of power since 1960, according to the CIA. He was reelected in 2023. The results were disputed.

But over 100 militia groups are active in the country, particularly in the east, according to the CIA. Rebels include groups affiliated with everyone from ISIS to neighboring Rwanda. The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country is the organization’s largest peacekeeping mission in the world, the CIA said.

Violence has escalated in particular since January, when Rwandan-backed M23 rebels captured the two largest cities in the east.

Contributing: Reuters

Michael Loria is a national reporter on the USA TODAY breaking news desk. Contact him at mloria@usatoday.com, @mchael_mchael or on Signal at (202) 290-4585.