Until recently, I thought I knew which European powers had carved up Africa: France, Britain, Portugal, Germany, Belgium and Italy. From recent events, I've learned that Spain also managed to grab a few handfuls of African land.
A colony of Spain for 190 years, the tiny central African nation of Equatorial Guinea has recently been in the news as the target of a coup attempt. The Chronology of African Independence reveals Western Sahara as the other ex-Spanish colony although its status as a nation is disputed by its current occupier (colonizer?) Morocco.
The coup in Equatorial Guinea, despite occurring in a country prone to them has made the news because of the role played by South African mercenaries. The Globe's Stephanie Nolen gives some background on how they got into the business.
...The apartheid government trained thousands of "special operatives" to target the black resistance, and to lead proxy armies in the wars South Africa fought in Angola, Namibia and Mozambique.When the African National Congress came to power 10 years ago, there was a whole force of men with elite fighting skills, suddenly out of work.
They found it elsewhere in Africa. In 1995, for example, Executive Outcomes was contracted by deposed dictator Valentine Strasser to return him to power in Sierra Leone, in exchange for a lucrative diamond-rights contract. In 1993, the firm helped eradicate the UNITA rebels in Angola, and then got a $40-million contract to retrain their former enemies in the Angolan army.
The Head Heeb has some analysis and links: The Men Behind The Coup, Flight to Nowhere. Some speculate that the coup was funded by Severo Moto, an opposition politician exiled in Madrid, but a NYTimes story raises the possibility that the plotters may be closer to home.
There is nothing to indicate that Mr. du Toit's contract to train the military of the government he sought to overthrow is untoward. Indeed, President Obiang said at Wednesday's news conference that he knew "for sure" that his brother was not involved in any way with any venture involving Mr. du Toit."I think it's not true," he said. "Because if it was like this, I would have known."
Still, a jefe in a place like this always looks over his shoulder. After all, the sole successful coup here occurred in 1979, when Mr. Obiang himself, then a lowly lieutenant colonel, overthrew and executed the self-proclaimed "Unique Miracle," Francisco Macias Nguema.
Mr. Nguema was his uncle. It was a family affair.