US announces sanctions against armed group and companies profiting from conflict minerals in Congo
A senior U.S. government official said the state and treasury departments are sanctioning the CODECO armed group, which controlled the key coltan mining site of Rubaya from 2022 to early 2024.
'During this period, CODECO generated revenue by overseeing mining operations, collecting illegal fees and taxes for miners and engaging in mineral smuggling. It also imposed forced labor and executed civilians in mining areas under its control,' the official said.
The U.S. is also sanctioning the Congolese mining company CDMC, saying it sold minerals that were sourced and smuggled from mines near Rubaya, and two Hong Kong exporters, East Rise and Star Dragon, that purchased minerals from the mining area.
The State Department said it is freezing the assets of the armed group and companies in the U.S. or under U.S. control and banning all transactions with them.
Rubaya is currently under control of the M23 rebel group, which is already targeted by U.S. sanctions.
The mining site lies in the heart of eastern Congo, a mineral-rich part of the Central African nation, which for decades has been ripped apart by violence from government forces and different armed groups, including the Rwanda-backed M23, whose recent resurgence has escalated the conflict, worsening an already acute humanitarian crisis.
In June, Congo and Rwanda signed a peace deal facilitated by the U.S. to help end the conflict while helping the U.S. government and American companies gain access to critical minerals in the region.
Congo and the M23 rebels have also agreed to sign a permanent peace deal by Aug. 18 but renewed fighting has threatened this effort.
On Tuesday, Congo and M23 both accused each other of violating the agreement by attacking the others forces.
___
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
24 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Salem Communications: Q2 Earnings Snapshot
IRVING, Texas (AP) — IRVING, Texas (AP) — Salem Communications Corp. (SALM) on Wednesday reported a loss of $17.6 million in its second quarter. On a per-share basis, the Irving, Texas-based company said it had a loss of 55 cents. Earnings, adjusted for asset impairment costs, came to 8 cents per share. The multimedia company posted revenue of $54.1 million in the period. _____
San Francisco Chronicle
24 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
First Keystone: Q2 Earnings Snapshot
BERWICK, Pa. (AP) — BERWICK, Pa. (AP) — First Keystone Corp. (FKYS) on Wednesday reported net income of $2.9 million in its second quarter. The Berwick, Pennsylvania-based bank said it had earnings of 47 cents per share. The bank posted revenue of $20.7 million in the period. Its revenue net of interest expense was $11.3 million, which beat Street forecasts. _____
San Francisco Chronicle
24 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Colombians bid farewell to presidential hopeful Uribe after shooting at political rally
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombians on Wednesday bid farewell to senator and presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe Turbay, who died more than two months after being shot during a political rally in the South American country's capital. Family, friends, members of Congress and a delegation of government officials from the United States honored Uribe, whose coffin was draped with Colombia's flag. The 39-year-old died Monday in the hospital where he had been since the June 7 shooting. Thousands of mourners paid their respects Tuesday. 'The bullets that took his life not only broke the hearts of his family, they reopened the fractures of a country that has yet to find peace,' Senate President Lidio García said, referring to Colombia's long history of violence against politicians. Uribe had become one of the strongest critics of Colombia's current government. In October, he joined the list of politicians seeking to replace Gustavo Petro, the first leftist to govern Colombia, in the May 2026 elections. Uribe was shot three times, twice in the head, while giving a campaign speech in a park in a working-class Bogota neighborhood. Authorities have arrested six people, including the teenager they say shot him, but they have not determined who ordered the attack or why. The shooting, caught on multiple videos, alarmed Colombians who have not seen this kind of political violence against presidential candidates since Medellin drug lord Pablo Escobar declared war on the state in the 1990s. Uribe's mother, well-known journalist Diana Turbay, was among the victims in that period. She died during a police rescue after being kidnapped by a group of drug traffickers led by Escobar seeking to block their extradition to the U.S. 'If my mother was willing to give her life for a cause, how could I not do the same in life and in politics?' Uribe, who was 5 when his mother was killed, said in an interview with a Colombian news outlet last year. The senator's family said he would be buried Wednesday at Bogota's Central Cemetery. The cemetery is the oldest in the city and the final resting place of figures such as Liberal leader Luis Carlos Galán, who was shot dead in 1989 while giving a presidential campaign speech in Bogota.
