Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - known as the Belgian Congo under colonialism, the Republic of Congo at independence (1960), Zaire from 1971 to 1997, and the Democratic Republic of Congo thereafter - is a vast Central African country whose Cold War history is deeply entangled with CIA operations.

Independence and the Congo Crisis

The Belgian Congo achieved independence on June 30, 1960, with Patrice Lumumba as Prime Minister and Joseph Kasavubu as President. The transition was immediately destabilized by Congolese army mutinies, Belgian military intervention, and the secession of the mineral-rich Katanga province under Moise Tshombe with Belgian support.

Lumumba's appeal to the Soviet Union for assistance against Belgian intervention led CIA Director Dulles to characterize him as Africa's Castro and authorize assassination planning. CIA Leopoldville station chief Larry Devlin facilitated army chief of staff Colonel Joseph Mobutu's coup in September 1960, which neutralized Lumumba. Lumumba was captured in December 1960 and executed by Katangan forces on January 17, 1961 - in circumstances the Church Committee found involved CIA facilitation.¹

The Mobutu Era (1965-1997)

After a period of nominal civilian government, Mobutu seized full power on November 24, 1965 with continuing CIA support. He received enormous American Cold War backing as the dominant anti-communist power in Central Africa. In 1971 he renamed the country Zaire as part of an "authenticity" campaign, along with renaming the Congo River the Zaire River and requiring citizens to use African names.

During the Mobutu era, Zaire received billions in American economic and military assistance. American intelligence cooperation with Mobutu's government continued through CIA operations and the broader network including the Safari Club - the covert intelligence consortium organized by French intelligence chief Alexandre de Marenches in 1976 that used African client states for operations where CIA legal constraints limited direct action.¹

Operation IAFEATURE: Angola

Zaire served as the primary CIA logistics base for Operation IAFEATURE (1975-1976), the CIA's covert program to support UNITA and the FNLA against the Soviet- and Cuban-backed MPLA in the Angolan civil war that followed Angolan independence from Portugal. CIA Director William Colby and then Director George H.W. Bush managed the operation. Zairian territory was used to funnel weapons, CIA personnel, and funds to the CIA-backed Angolan factions. The operation was disclosed by journalist John Stockwell (a CIA case officer who resigned and wrote In Search of Enemies, 1978) and was shut down by Congress through the Clark Amendment in 1976.¹

Uranium and Nuclear Connection

The Shinkolobwe uranium mine in Katanga province was the source of the high-grade uranium used in the Manhattan Project's atomic bombs. Belgian-controlled Union Minière du Haut Katanga supplied the ore; Shinkolobwe uranium was used in both the Trinity test and the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The mine was subsequently closed and reopened multiple times; artisanal mining resumed in the 2000s despite official prohibition.²

Post-Mobutu

Laurent-Désiré Kabila's rebels overthrew Mobutu in May 1997; the country was renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kabila was assassinated in January 2001; his son Joseph Kabila succeeded him. The DRC has experienced persistent civil conflict since Mobutu's fall, including two major regional wars (1996-1997 and 1998-2003) involving forces from multiple African countries, and ongoing internal armed conflict in eastern Congo.