DRC Repatriates US Citizens Convicted in Failed Coup Plot

Three United States citizens convicted in the Democratic Republic of Congo for a failed coup attempt have been repatriated to the US. Initially handed death sentences, the three had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment last week, ahead of negotiations between US and Congolese officials over a multibillion-dollar minerals-for-security deal. The trio—Marcel Malanga, Tyler Thompson Jr., and Benjamin Zalman-Polun—were tied to coup leader Christian Malanga, father of Marcel, who died during the attack on the presidential palace in May 2024. The US condemned the coup but stressed fair legal treatment, with lawyers expected to seek sentence reductions. While the fate of other foreign convicts remains unclear, the families of the returned Americans expressed relief over their safe return.