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US labels Guinea-Bissau military bosses 'drug kingpins'
Thu Apr 8, 11:04 AM
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States slapped sanctions on two of Guinea-Bissau's top military figures on Thursday for alleged drug running.
The Treasury Department designated air force chief of staff Ibraima Papa Camara and former navy chief of staff Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto as drug kingpins.
The treasury said the two played "significant roles in international narcotics trafficking," according to a statement.
The small, crisis-stricken African nation has been overwhelmed by the international drugs trade, becoming a key transit point in cocaine smuggling between South America and Europe.
The former Portuguese colony was recently rocked by a failed military insurgency, led by the army chief of staff, which tried to overthrow the government.
"Targeting Na Tchuto and Camara impedes their ability to profit from the narcotics trade and engage in destabilizing activities," said Adam Szubin, the head of the treasury's office of foreign assets control.
The two will now have any US-based assets frozen and US citizens will be prohibited from doing business with them.
Guinea-Bissau's top national export earner is cashew nuts.
Thu Apr 8, 11:04 AM
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States slapped sanctions on two of Guinea-Bissau's top military figures on Thursday for alleged drug running.
The Treasury Department designated air force chief of staff Ibraima Papa Camara and former navy chief of staff Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto as drug kingpins.
The treasury said the two played "significant roles in international narcotics trafficking," according to a statement.
The small, crisis-stricken African nation has been overwhelmed by the international drugs trade, becoming a key transit point in cocaine smuggling between South America and Europe.
The former Portuguese colony was recently rocked by a failed military insurgency, led by the army chief of staff, which tried to overthrow the government.
"Targeting Na Tchuto and Camara impedes their ability to profit from the narcotics trade and engage in destabilizing activities," said Adam Szubin, the head of the treasury's office of foreign assets control.
The two will now have any US-based assets frozen and US citizens will be prohibited from doing business with them.
Guinea-Bissau's top national export earner is cashew nuts.
TIMELINE-U.S. names Bissau military brass as drug kingpins
08 Apr 2010 17:42:01 GMT
Source: Reuters
BISSAU, April 4 (Reuters) - The United States named top military officials in Guinea Bissau as international drugs traffickers, freezing their U.S. assets and banning Americans from commercial dealings with them. [ID:nN08234110]
The U.S. Treasury Department action against Air Force chief of staff Ibraima Papa Camara and former navy chief Jose Americo Bubo Na Chuto comes just a week after renegade soldiers allied to Na Chuto ousted the armed forces chief.
It is the latest bout of instability in a country which has known unrest since its struggle for independence from Portugal. Here are the key events:
July 1961 - The African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC) launches a guerrilla war against Portuguese rule.
Sept. 10, 1974 - Guinea Bissau state is established after the collapse of Portugal's dictatorship, stretched to breaking point by the war. Luis Cabral becomes president.
Nov. 14, 1980 - Prime Minister Joao Bernado Vieira overthrows Cabral; military-dominated revolutionary council takes control.
1994-1999 - Vieira wins an election, survives a 1998 civil war in which several thousand are killed but is toppled in a military coup a year later. He flees into exile and is replaced by former philosophy professor, Kumba Yala, in a new election.
Sept. 14, 2003 - Another coup: the army seizes power pledging to restore order after repeated delays to elections.
July 24, 2005 - Vieira wins election to return as president.
March 2, 2009 - Vieira killed hours after the killing of the armed forces chief of staff. National assembly speaker Raimundo Pereira is sworn in as interim head of state. Malam Bacai Sanha wins a July election run-off against Yala.
April 1-2 - Soldiers briefly detain Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior. They free suspected coup leader and former navy chief, Bubo Na Tchuto. They also replace armed forces chief of staff Admiral Jose Zamora Induta with his deputy, General Antonio Njai, who later reveals his allegiance to Na Tchuto.
April 8 - U.S. sanctions comes as Sanha mediates to resolve tensions between Gomes and the new army leaders. (Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit) (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/ )
08 Apr 2010 17:42:01 GMT
Source: Reuters
BISSAU, April 4 (Reuters) - The United States named top military officials in Guinea Bissau as international drugs traffickers, freezing their U.S. assets and banning Americans from commercial dealings with them. [ID:nN08234110]
The U.S. Treasury Department action against Air Force chief of staff Ibraima Papa Camara and former navy chief Jose Americo Bubo Na Chuto comes just a week after renegade soldiers allied to Na Chuto ousted the armed forces chief.
It is the latest bout of instability in a country which has known unrest since its struggle for independence from Portugal. Here are the key events:
July 1961 - The African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC) launches a guerrilla war against Portuguese rule.
Sept. 10, 1974 - Guinea Bissau state is established after the collapse of Portugal's dictatorship, stretched to breaking point by the war. Luis Cabral becomes president.
Nov. 14, 1980 - Prime Minister Joao Bernado Vieira overthrows Cabral; military-dominated revolutionary council takes control.
1994-1999 - Vieira wins an election, survives a 1998 civil war in which several thousand are killed but is toppled in a military coup a year later. He flees into exile and is replaced by former philosophy professor, Kumba Yala, in a new election.
Sept. 14, 2003 - Another coup: the army seizes power pledging to restore order after repeated delays to elections.
July 24, 2005 - Vieira wins election to return as president.
March 2, 2009 - Vieira killed hours after the killing of the armed forces chief of staff. National assembly speaker Raimundo Pereira is sworn in as interim head of state. Malam Bacai Sanha wins a July election run-off against Yala.
April 1-2 - Soldiers briefly detain Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior. They free suspected coup leader and former navy chief, Bubo Na Tchuto. They also replace armed forces chief of staff Admiral Jose Zamora Induta with his deputy, General Antonio Njai, who later reveals his allegiance to Na Tchuto.
April 8 - U.S. sanctions comes as Sanha mediates to resolve tensions between Gomes and the new army leaders. (Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit) (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/ )
G Bissau drugs sanctions threat
UN chief Ban Ki-moon has called for the Security Council to consider imposing sanctions against those involved in Guinea-Bissau's drugs trade.
He warned that drug trafficking through Guinea-Bissau could wreak havoc in the West African country and region.
Mr Ban said he was concerned that drugs were being smuggled over the country's porous borders.
He said Guinea-Bissau was no longer just a transit hub in the smuggling between Latin America and Europe.
The BBC's UN correspondent Laura Trevelyan says Guinea-Bissau has been called Africa's first narco state, meaning a failed state run for the benefit of drugs gangs.
The tiny West African country has become a major hub for drugs gangs moving cocaine from Latin America to Europe.
In a report, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says the increase in drug trafficking could wreak havoc throughout the country and along its borders.
The volume of drug trafficking in this country of one and a half million people is much greater than previously thought, he says.
Mr Ban calls on the UN Security Council to consider identifying those responsible for the drugs trade in Guinea-Bissau and then imposing sanctions against them.
"I am especially concerned about reports that Guinea-Bissau is no longer merely a transit hub, but appears to be fast becoming a major market place in the drug trade," he said.
Although there have been allegations of state officials taking kickbacks in return for allowing the drugs through the country, Mr Ban praised the authorities in Guinea-Bissau for telling the UN they were ready to support robust action against those involved in the trade.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon has called for the Security Council to consider imposing sanctions against those involved in Guinea-Bissau's drugs trade.
He warned that drug trafficking through Guinea-Bissau could wreak havoc in the West African country and region.
Mr Ban said he was concerned that drugs were being smuggled over the country's porous borders.
He said Guinea-Bissau was no longer just a transit hub in the smuggling between Latin America and Europe.
The BBC's UN correspondent Laura Trevelyan says Guinea-Bissau has been called Africa's first narco state, meaning a failed state run for the benefit of drugs gangs.
The tiny West African country has become a major hub for drugs gangs moving cocaine from Latin America to Europe.
In a report, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says the increase in drug trafficking could wreak havoc throughout the country and along its borders.
The volume of drug trafficking in this country of one and a half million people is much greater than previously thought, he says.
Mr Ban calls on the UN Security Council to consider identifying those responsible for the drugs trade in Guinea-Bissau and then imposing sanctions against them.
"I am especially concerned about reports that Guinea-Bissau is no longer merely a transit hub, but appears to be fast becoming a major market place in the drug trade," he said.
Although there have been allegations of state officials taking kickbacks in return for allowing the drugs through the country, Mr Ban praised the authorities in Guinea-Bissau for telling the UN they were ready to support robust action against those involved in the trade.
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