KINSHASA (Reuters) -Three U.S. citizens jailed over a failed coup attempt in Democratic Republic of Congo are now in U.S. custody after their sentences were commuted last week, four U.S. diplomats and the Congolese presidency told Reuters on Tuesday.
The deal to hand over the Americans was finalised as U.S. President Donald Trump’s senior Africa adviser, Massad Boulos, traveled to Congo to hold meetings with President Felix Tshisekedi in the capital Kinshasa.
It comes amid negotiations between Washington and Kinshasa on security and mining. Ahead of the trip, Trump’s special envoy for hostage response had called on Tshisekedi to release the Americans.
Congo’s minerals, which are used in mobile phones and electric cars, are currently exploited predominantly by China and its mining companies.
A U.S. source close to the talks said the three Americans would face charges back home over their role in the coup attempt.
The United States is open to exploring critical minerals partnerships with Congo, the State Department said in a statement to Reuters last month, after a Congolese senator contacted U.S. officials to pitch a minerals-for-security deal.
(Reporting Ange Kasongo, Jessica Donati, Sonia Rolley and Stanis Bujakera Writing by Portia Crowe and Jessica Donati; Editing by Gareth Jones and Bill Berkrot)
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