Erik Prince has been a busy guy and in the news a lot lately, from Ecuador to the DRC.
See: Reuters — Exclusive: Trump supporter Prince reaches deal with Congo to help secure mineral wealth
Summary
◘ Blackwater founder struck agreement before M23 rebel advance
◘ Focus on boosting tax collection, cutting cross-border smuggling
◘ Implementation talks come as US, Congo explore mineral partnership
April 17 (Reuters) – Prominent Trump supporter Erik Prince has agreed to help Democratic Republic of Congo secure and tax its vast mineral wealth, according to two sources close to the private security executive, a Congolese government official and two diplomats.
The agreement, aimed at reaping more revenue from an industry marred by smuggling and corruption, was reached before Rwanda-backed M23 rebels launched a major offensive in January that has seen them seize eastern Congo’s two largest cities.
The discussions now on implementing the deal with Prince come as the U.S. and Congo explore a broader deal on critical minerals partnerships, after Congo pitched a minerals-for-security deal to U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.
First, I find it interesting that the Reuters headline felt it necessary to say that Prince is a Trump supporter. Why not have the headline say ‘Prince reaches deal with Congo to help secure mineral wealth’? Why mention he supports Trump? Maybe mention he supports Trump in the body of the report. There is a certain mindset and conditioning at play here.
I was talking with a former associate of mine. He believes that the DRC won’t uphold its end of any deals and that this won’t work well for Prince and his company/companies and his associates. There’s a certain expectation, or lack thereof, when dealing with African nations, including the DRC. My associate speaks from experience, as do I. Culture eats strategy for breakfast. However, with any possible interest and involvement of the US government, this could create a more solid outcome.
There is also a lot of criticism of this deal if it happens. A PMSC with access to minerals and being paid in minerals or concessions, doesn’t sit well with many. Russia’s PMC Wagner Group, now The Africa Corps (TAC), has deals with governments that grant them mineral concessions as payment for their military services and equipment provisioning, and for Moscow’s support. The difference as it appears is that Prince’s tasks will be focused on protecting the mines, the supply lines, the logistics, as well as border security; it appears they are not being hired as a mercenary army to join the war effort on the frontlines against rebels such as M23. But if this deal goes through, they will be put in a position where they will likely engage with rebels and militants such the ISIS affiliated ADF, a.k.a. ISIS–Democratic Republic of Congo (ISIS-DRC) Perhaps this deal is designed intentionally to set up Prince’s companies and associates to engage rebels and terrorists under the official task of protecting resources.
The thing about the Geneva Conventions and the UN Convention on Mercenaries is that once foreign soldiers are used on the frontlines, it becomes illegal. Potra and his Romanian mercenaries were in the DRC for advisory work, specifically for training purposes. They were posted in Goma, near the fighting with M23, when they could just as well have done the training in Kinshasa. Placing the Romanians’ PMSCs near the frontlines was intentional, I believe, to put them in a position to defend Goma if it were attacked — for which they failed and surrendered to M23. Officially, they were there to train and advise the FARDC, and their scope of work reflected this. Consequently, they were not violating any Geneva Convention or UN convention rules.
IF! this deal with Prince goes through, it will be interesting to see what the Prince’s companies’ tasks will be, and if they are going to play the defence card, where they will only engage when attacked, while setting themselves in places where they are guaranteed to be attacked, i.e. near frontlines.
Let’s see what happens.
–RdM
Addendum, 05 May: There are reports that “Blackwater” (or whatever Erik Prince company name/entity being used) are already deploying to the DRC. The first team has arrived in Walikale. They will secure a tin mine run by ALPHAMIN.
The source says that up to 6,000 PMSCs will be deployed. I find that number to be high, but let’s see what happens.
Addendum: Something else to consider:
‘The U.S. Neutrality Act, primarily known for its role in preventing involvement in foreign conflicts, doesn’t explicitly prohibit individuals from serving as mercenaries in foreign armies. However, it does criminalize Americans who organize or launch military expeditions against countries at peace with the U.S. The Act’s focus has been on preventing the U.S. from being drawn into wars through its own actions, rather than directly regulating the actions of individuals serving in foreign mercenary forces…’
RE: commentary by Will Mackie, ‘Soldiers of Fortune: Why U.S. Mercenaries Should Not Be Legal’: https://warontherocks.com/2021/08/soldiers-of-fortune-why-u-s-mercenaries-should-not-be-legal/
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#PMSC #DRC #M23 #Rwanda #Africa #resources #taxes #bordersecurity #smuggling #war #civilwar #ErikPrince #minerals
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