10 years after Latin drug cartels began using Guinea Bissau to transport cocaine, two aides to Guinea Bissau’s former navy chief and cocaine kingpin, Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto, have pleaded guilty in a New York court for their roles in a major cocaine trafficking enterprise. More after the click.
From Jollof News via Reuters:
In one of the most high-profile international drug cases in the United States, two aides to Guinea Bissau’s former navy chief, Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto, have pleaded guilty in New York to their roles in a major cocaine trafficking enterprise.
Tchamy Yala and Papis Djeme entered their pleas in Manhattan federal court on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, telling a U.S. judge they conspired to import cocaine to Guinea Bissau in West Africa for eventual distribution to Europe and the United States.
The former navy chief, Na Tchuto, was arrested in a dramatic sting operation last year by U.S. authorities, who claim the Guinea-Bissau war hero is a kingpin of West Africa’s illicit drug trade.
United Nations officials say poverty-stricken Guinea Bissau, a former Portuguese colony that borders Senegal, is a major waypoint for Latin American cocaine on its way to Europe. American and European authorities have long suspected that the country’s military is involved in trafficking.
According to U.S. prosecutors in New York, the three men met with confidential Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) informants posing as representatives of Latin American drug traffickers and were recorded discussing shipments of cocaine to Guinea Bissau.Na Tchuto, a fighter in Guinea Bissau’s 1956-1973 independence war, was seized from a luxury yacht off the coast of Guinea Bissau. He has denied the charges against him.
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Before reading this article, I didn’t know much about the Guinea Bissau cocaine trade, however this article from Time Magazine definitely provided context. Check it out if you’re interested in learning more.
