Three Americans who were involved in a failed coup attempt against the government of President Felix Tshisekedi in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in May 2024 have now been repatriated to the U.S. after being sentenced to death by a military tribunal in September 2024. These individuals include 21-year-old Marcel Malanga, the son of opposition figure Christian Malanga, who led the coup plot targeting the presidential palace in Kinshasa.
Marcel Malanga claims that his father forced him to participate in the attempt, which ultimately failed. Christian Malanga was killed by Congolese authorities while resisting arrest during the coup attempt. Along with Malanga, two other Americans, Tyler Thompson Jr., also 21, and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 36, were repatriated. Thompson had traveled to Africa, believing he was on a vacation, while Zalman-Polun reportedly knew Christian Malanga through a gold mining business.
The U.S. State Department has condemned the armed attacks of May 19th and emphasized the importance of ensuring that the Americans are treated fairly and humanely during their legal process. The repatriation of the Americans is part of broader diplomatic negotiations, as Congolese authorities are seeking a minerals deal with the U.S. in exchange for security assistance in combating rebels, particularly the Rwandan-backed M23 group, which has been intensifying its offensive in eastern DRC.
The involvement of U.S. citizens in this failed coup, and the subsequent diplomatic efforts surrounding their repatriation, are unfolding amidst heightened instability in the DRC, where the government is dealing with both internal rebellions and external pressures.