February 1 Failed Coup in Guinea-Bissau sponsored by “drug trafficking, corruption” interests, says President Umaro Sissoco Embalo.
Special to USAfrica magazine (Houston) and USAfricaonline.com, first Africa-owned, US-based newspaper published on the Internet.
The embattled 49-years old President Umaro Sissoco Embalo of Guinea-Bissau has said the military coup which started earlier on Tuesday February 1, 2022 turned out a “failed attack against democracy.” He made a video message on his official Facebook page to assure the populace and the international community that he is in control of the situation in the relatively small west African country, a former colony of Portugal, which gained political independence in 1974. The country has gone through four military coups.
Assuming the posture and verbal piety of a statesman, he said that “The attackers could have spoken to me before these bloody events that have seriously injured many and claimed lives.”
President Embalo and Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam were at the Palace of Government for a cabinet meeting. There was sustained gunfire heard near seat of government in the capital of Guinea-Bissau
Embalo, a bold and controversial figure, alleged the failed coup was sponsored by criminal interests and individuals opposed to his decisions and actions “notably to fight drug trafficking and corruption.”
USAfrica and USAfricaonline.com note that although Embalo has not shown evidence, at the time of our report, it is known in major security and law enforcement agencies that his relatively poor country has become a transit point for some drug dealers and traffickers.
