BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau – The global drug trade has emerged as a central factor in the latest military coup in Guinea-Bissau, with officers justifying their takeover by alleging “national drug lords” were plotting against the state.
The military intervention, the fifth in the West African nation’s 45-year history, highlights how narcotics trafficking has become deeply intertwined with politics in a country described by the United Nations as a key gateway for Latin American cocaine bound for European markets. According to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, Guinea-Bissau’s cocaine market is currently “booming once again” and “more profitable than at any point in the country’s history.”
General Denis N’Canha, head of the presidential military office, claimed the coup was necessary to protect national security against a destabilization plot involving drug traffickers introducing weapons into the country. The takeover occurred as the nation awaited results from recent presidential and legislative elections, continuing a pattern of political turmoil in one of West Africa’s most coup-prone nations.
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This article reports on political developments and their alleged connections to international drug trafficking based on international news agency reporting and expert analysis. The claims and characterizations represent the perspectives of military officials and international organizations. CDA News presents this as developing international news.
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