Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bissau (Agenzia Fides) – The USA is finalizing a list of 120 names of Guinean nationals suspected of being involved in drug trafficking. The list includes the names of politicians, parliamentarians, businessmen, and military in Guinea Bissau whose assets in the United States will be frozen and will be subject to vigorous scrutiny by the institutions that fight crime internationally.
According to Luanda Digital, which reported the news, among the companies that may be affected by the decision of U.S. authorities is a Bissau fish export company run by the son of the President of Guinea-Bissau.
One of the factors that raised the first suspicions of U.S. officials were the company's connections to the Canary Islands, Senegal, and Morocco, countries seen as important gateways for cocaine across Europe.
In recent years, hundreds of tons of cocaine from Latin America, with European destinations, has passed through Guinea Bissau. In this country with a very weak economy, drug money in circulation ensures impunity and protection for drug traffickers.
Guinea Bissau is also experiencing a serious political crisis arising from the strong contrasts between President Malam Bacai Sanha and Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior. The clash at the top of the State is liable to favor the military, led by Admiral Bubo Na Tchuto who recently returned from Gambia, where he had fled to escape arrest on charges of an attempted coup in 2008. Na Tchuto was acquitted by a military court, which several observers say shows the strong influence that the former Navy Chief still enjoys in the country.
In April, a group of soldiers led by General Antonio Njai, an ally of Na Tchuto, for a short period of time kidnapped the Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior, considered an enemy of drug traffickers.
Na Tchuto has already been included in the US list of leaders of international drug trafficking. The addition of another hundred names on this list is considered by many observers as an attempt to limit the power of the military and officials related to trafficking and to strengthen the legitimate holders of power. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 08/06/2010)
