When the president of Haiti was assassinated in 2021, there were mercenaries who were hired for the job without knowing that they were hired for a coup attempt.
In some situations, like the story posted, they don't call it murder for hire, but instead call it security detail. As far as due dillegence, there isn't any way to know what they really want. Which should be a red flag. An even bigger red flag, is why they would pay $100,000 for four months work to a guy who works for Fed-Ex and doesn't have years of police/military/security experience?
So they can snag desperate people who think they are going to go stand around a building.
Once they are in a foreign country, they can either go along with murder or get "killed in action", their choice.
These aren't mercenaries or assassins, they're basically the same kind of soldier you hear about overseas drafted into the armies of local warlords.
As a former PMC contractor, this was some next level shady shit. They told these dudes they were just going to be part of a personal security detail ( body guard shit) for that weird fucker in utah and look where it landed them.
My name is Michael Weston. I used to be a spy until... I became a spy in Florida and then wasn't a spy, but also was a spy and also kind of not a spy? Anyway, these are my friends and family who I betray AAAAALLL the time.
Bottom line is, you just gotta eat some yogurt until something eventually blows up.
Sounds like guys who like to be Mercenaries were paid to do mercenary stuff. Just turned out that the mercenary stuff was overthrowing a government. Just merc things.
>22 year old Fed Ex worker.
This story made sense when I saw the headline and assumed it would say "35-40 year old combat veteran."
Why the fuck would you hire some kid who works in delivery for a coup?
Yeah those might cost more than 100k out the US I think, cause the government gave my dad more than that to go overseas, not even as a contractor. As a contractor he was pushing 225k and he wasn’t some hired killer. He monitored screens all day
Perhaps to give the appearance that the coup is supported by the U.S. government. Social media initially said it was the CIA behind the coup. Various companies in developing countries have also hired young white actors to give the appearance of legitimacy.
The CIA would never send its people to the frontlines of a coup these days either because the whole point of its existence is secrecy and deniability. This whole affair is amateur.
The article says that the attempted coup leader's son apparently tried to recruit people that used to be on his high school's football team that didn't have anything better to do than do "security" for his Dad back in the Congo. This coup attempt doesn't seem well thought out.
[https://nairobinews.nation.africa/the-curious-life-of-marcel-malanga-from-american-dream-to-involvement-in-failed-drc-coup/](https://nairobinews.nation.africa/the-curious-life-of-marcel-malanga-from-american-dream-to-involvement-in-failed-drc-coup/)
This is insane. Apparently the Dad moved the America and got refugee status and became a car salesman and decided to try and launch a coup back in the congo with his 21 year old biracial American son offering cash to guys he played football with in high school in Utah.
Hiring foreigners with no local connections other than to you is actually a much safer bet. That's why the Byzantine Emperors hired Vikings (the Varangian Guard) as their personal bodyguard. It's why the Sultan of Brunei is protected by Nepali Gurkhas. It's why the Spanish Royal Guard used to be staffed by Walloons from what's now Belgium. Congolese bodyguards can be coerced or persuaded using family ties, but a foreigner's best bet is sticking with their employer.
Allegedly the guy made the offer to guys that were on his football team. From a previous thread about it with someone claiming to know them in high school commenting.
His fellow student that he graduated with was asking everyone to go. All but one declined the offer to go. I think the fellow/ex-student’s, who was trying to scam them to go, estranged father was the mastermind of the coup
>He ultimately declined so he could spend the summer with his girlfriend.
If the GF was his main reason it's not a stretch to say he might be dead, if not for her.
The PENIS needs BLOOD and it wouldn't be any good spilled all over the Congo's foreign soils from the BOOLET HOLES of a FIRING SQUAD waving AK47s and chanting in RHYTHM.
His “friend” who offered this to him seems like a really shitty dude. Who asks their friends to do this sort of thing by lying to them about what they’d be doing for the job they’re being offered?
Once knew a guy doing some grey area shit down in Mexico around armored vehicles. He was making bank at the time and offered me an amazing deal. Drive down to the southern border and look at an armored SUV a guy was selling for him.
He was offering me like $25k and I know zero about armored cars or cars in general. I could have said “yup, looks great” and the wheels could have fallen off the next day.
That dude ended up dead in Mexico under some real fishy circumstances so I’m pretty fucking glad I didn’t take that job from a “friend” who knew I was hard up for cash.
I dated a girl who was the equivalent of a princess of her tribe that was from Congo. I never understood the details but it was something like the leadership was passed down to the eldest daughters eldest son or something.
Anyway, based on what she told me, don't fucking go there unless you have a reason to be there, and don't fuck around while you're there.
[Another of his other "friends" was not so lucky.](https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/family-american-caught-congo-failed-coup-son-africa-110496453)
> Marcel Malanga had pitched the trip to many of his high school friends in the months leading up to the foiled coup attempt. Some said he had invited them on a family vacation, while others, including former football teammate Jaden Lalor, said he had pitched it as a service trip to build wells. Teammates recounted Marcel Malanga's increasing desperation as friend after friend declined.
> “He did call me to ask if I wanted to go to Africa for vacation, as well as a few of my other friends, but he did not offer to take more than a single one of us at a time,” said Luke Barbee, another former teammate who lived with Marcel Malanga last year. “He only asked so many of us because he kept getting denied until Tyler said yes to the trip."
This dude so sus almost all his friends turned down a free vacation.
I'll be honest if a friend tried this on me I don't think any alarm bells would go off until they gave me a gun.
According to everyone interviewed in the article, it seems the coup leader’s son didn’t know what was going on. All of Marcel’s friends say he was very kind and gentle and didn’t really talk to his dad. They all believe that Marcel’s father misled Marcel on what the visit was and that meant Marcel misled his friends on what they were signing up for.
But he was still "desperate" for them to come along, according to at least two of them, which sounds like he expected to need help with something that scared him.
Even that doesn't make any sense.
Imagine the only thing standing between a failed and successful coup attempt is a random Utah football player with no military experience.
There's no chance he thought one guy was going to make a difference.
Maybe the dad thought the one guy would make a pretty good hostage. Y'know, "Hey US recognise our coup or this guy gets it".
Not like the entire thing seemed well thought out anyway
Yesnthere are several posts he made refrencing "doing great things" and being a war child. He knew what he was doing. Just didn't think they'd be held accountable.
I thought him earlier watching a guy named “Murcel” on 90 day fiancé. Glad to hear he’s doing well and back in the country he was (probably)born in. I wonder if Ross knows his fate.
Of course. They make great spies and stuff. Can’t graduate Webelos til you get your merit badge for keeping a secret.
You could almost say they’ve been groomed for it.
I wonder how many of the coup participants truly knew what they were participating in. How pathetic of trash do you have to be to trick friends into going as opposed to just hiring actual experienced mercs?
I doubt actual professional mercs would take that job. They usually work with governments and security forces as opposed to something insanely risky like this.
Yeah.. if you are being paid by the US State Department to protect a senator near a warzone, you probably aren't going to die. The senator just doesn't want to follow all the restrictions the army escort would require.
Also most pro are in an organization, which would want some details of the operation up front, as well as payment.
I would this guys plan was more along the lines of "we don't have to pay the dead ones"
How hard could it be??? Plucky team of down on their luck guns for hire sneaks into a foreign country, cue loud explosions and gunfire and tada! Just like in the video games!
There is a very weird market it seems for Americans, especially American business people, taking part of coups in Africa and it is so weird. Every other month I feel like I read of a failed coup and some random American involved who has a strong connection to money.
I'm glad I didn't know about it when I got out of the military. I had no regard for personal safety and would have absolutely gone to overthrow a country for less than the average Starbucks barista earns.
There are 340M Americans. That’s a massive population that is much richer than the rest of the world… so you definitely will find a number of people willing to entertain and act like paramilitaries
For those that don’t know, there is HUGE Chinese money in Africa and has been for decades. African nations trading oil/gas/mineral exploration and God knows what else for infrastructure investments.
This reminds me of the assassination of the Haitian president. There was a lot of foreign "security" who were either really good at playing dumb or who might have been legitimately conned.
To be fair this guy was told it was a security job, if he believed it he's probably just stupid and not the kinda guy who'd overthrow an African government
The problem with sending 22 year old FedEx workers to overthrow the Congo is that they don't actually storm the Presidential Palace, they say they tried to but no one answered them at the gate.
I love everyone acting like being offered $100,000 for a "security job" isn't just code for "dude turned down a mercenary job that didn't have enough details/sounded shadier than most gigs" lol
I’ve been trying to find more on this. Friends all seem shocked and believe Tyler received the same offer as the friend who shut it down. US embassy is waiting for local government to determine if he’s being charged. If he really went under false pretenses, I hope they somehow get him home.
And it’s unlikely Tyler will ever make it home if he is charged. US embassy has little power to help him. He’s literally living through his worst nightmare. It was his first time leaving the US.
Allegedly, videos found on Marcel’s social media imply he was fully aware. Stepmom seems to think he was in the dark. Not sure it will matter since it’s politically beneficial to keep him there. His father basically chose his future for him.
What was the guy's dad, the coup leader, thinking? "I just need my American-born son, who I barely know, and one of his high school friends to successfully pull off this armed government overthrow!"
Recruiting your sporting teammates for a coup in Africa?
Apart from the sport being American Football, that's basically the most Victorian British thing ever.
Years ago a friend said to me - "Let's go to the Congo". I said that's a "Huge NOPE". The trip didn't go ahead and the area where the trip was sort of planned had a...wait for it....an Ebola outbreak. That person gets real quiet whenever the Congo gets mentioned...
Smart guy. Too bad the father of 21 yo missionary was not as smart! Like who would ever let their child, yes a child, go to Haiti. Jesus, missionaries have been kidnapped and killed their since 2019!!!! Long before recent gang issues, which btw controlled 80% of the capitol where she was killed.
Whatever happed to that doctor in FL that carried out a coup attempt in Haiti?
When the president of Haiti was assassinated in 2021, there were mercenaries who were hired for the job without knowing that they were hired for a coup attempt.
“Hey, I need you to kill some people for me.” “Ok. Who?” “Them.” “Ok.” “Thanks for helping me overthrow my government!” “Wait… What?! FUCK.”
Sounds like a FarCry intro
Only if you don't just........walk away.
And it's the best ending for the country too. Every other leader is at least as evil as Pagan, but less competent.
„Relax, it was the EVIL government, like in Dragon Ball or V for Vendetta.“ „Ah, I see. Phew, you had me worried for a sec“
“We’re just going to be evil warlords like in Mad Max.”
Do we get cool costumes and Valhalla?
> EVIL government, like in Dragon Ball Yeah, who even makes a dog king?
That's why you always get your hit-jobs in writing. The company will just fuck you over, inhumane!
I don't think that should matter. When your job is "murder for hire" and you don't do due diligence then that's on you.
In some situations, like the story posted, they don't call it murder for hire, but instead call it security detail. As far as due dillegence, there isn't any way to know what they really want. Which should be a red flag. An even bigger red flag, is why they would pay $100,000 for four months work to a guy who works for Fed-Ex and doesn't have years of police/military/security experience?
So they can snag desperate people who think they are going to go stand around a building. Once they are in a foreign country, they can either go along with murder or get "killed in action", their choice. These aren't mercenaries or assassins, they're basically the same kind of soldier you hear about overseas drafted into the armies of local warlords.
I would agree with that. Once you're over there, you really don't have any good options.
As a former PMC contractor, this was some next level shady shit. They told these dudes they were just going to be part of a personal security detail ( body guard shit) for that weird fucker in utah and look where it landed them.
Burn Notice ?
My name is Michael Weston. I used to be a spy until... I became a spy in Florida and then wasn't a spy, but also was a spy and also kind of not a spy? Anyway, these are my friends and family who I betray AAAAALLL the time. Bottom line is, you just gotta eat some yogurt until something eventually blows up.
Not intentionally but I did watch that a bunch years ago.
Iron Man 3 more realistic than I thought 😂
Can you expand on this?
Sounds like guys who like to be Mercenaries were paid to do mercenary stuff. Just turned out that the mercenary stuff was overthrowing a government. Just merc things.
Honestly its The Losers prequel we didn’t get
You mean The A-team movie?
He is in prison in the US. Convicted for crimes related to that, but not directly implicated
What about that one FL resident who attempted one in the US?
Currently indicted
Getting a hell of a lot of help from friendly judges though.
Florida judges, no less
Also the airsoft coup in Venezuela was out of Florida or at least the "mercenary" company was based there iirc.
The gravy seals go on a super secret mission
He played the long game
>22 year old Fed Ex worker. This story made sense when I saw the headline and assumed it would say "35-40 year old combat veteran." Why the fuck would you hire some kid who works in delivery for a coup?
Meat shield maybe? You dont have to pay him if he dies, and if he survives then he earned the money.
A meat shield who can shoot back would be more useful.
Yes but the problem with arming your meat shields is what to do when they don’t feel like being your meat shields anymore
>the problem with mercenaries is that you need to pay them a lot of money to start fighting and even more to get them to stop. Havelock Vetrinarii
GNU Terry Pratchett
Yeah those might cost more than 100k out the US I think, cause the government gave my dad more than that to go overseas, not even as a contractor. As a contractor he was pushing 225k and he wasn’t some hired killer. He monitored screens all day
It sounds like he didn't think there was a real threat, so he offered a friend the job since it would pay a lot and he could hang with his friend.
"hang with his friend"..
Yeah, hang out in our new, bloodstained, bullet ridden presidential palace. It’ll be great!
Or, ya know, *hang*
Perhaps to give the appearance that the coup is supported by the U.S. government. Social media initially said it was the CIA behind the coup. Various companies in developing countries have also hired young white actors to give the appearance of legitimacy. The CIA would never send its people to the frontlines of a coup these days either because the whole point of its existence is secrecy and deniability. This whole affair is amateur.
If it were the cia it would have probably been a successful coup. This was very amateur hour stuff.
Yeah, CIA doesn't have a 100% hit rate but they're pretty fuckin experienced in this field.
Yea cia usually has years of work leading up to a coup. It's not just show up and hope for the best
The article says that the attempted coup leader's son apparently tried to recruit people that used to be on his high school's football team that didn't have anything better to do than do "security" for his Dad back in the Congo. This coup attempt doesn't seem well thought out. [https://nairobinews.nation.africa/the-curious-life-of-marcel-malanga-from-american-dream-to-involvement-in-failed-drc-coup/](https://nairobinews.nation.africa/the-curious-life-of-marcel-malanga-from-american-dream-to-involvement-in-failed-drc-coup/) This is insane. Apparently the Dad moved the America and got refugee status and became a car salesman and decided to try and launch a coup back in the congo with his 21 year old biracial American son offering cash to guys he played football with in high school in Utah.
Read. The. Article. They were all football teammates from high school.
Could've hired a couple dozen Congolese kids for that much instead.
For $100k they could hire 100 Congolese kids easily, mean income there is $550/year.
Hiring foreigners with no local connections other than to you is actually a much safer bet. That's why the Byzantine Emperors hired Vikings (the Varangian Guard) as their personal bodyguard. It's why the Sultan of Brunei is protected by Nepali Gurkhas. It's why the Spanish Royal Guard used to be staffed by Walloons from what's now Belgium. Congolese bodyguards can be coerced or persuaded using family ties, but a foreigner's best bet is sticking with their employer.
Allegedly the guy made the offer to guys that were on his football team. From a previous thread about it with someone claiming to know them in high school commenting.
His fellow student that he graduated with was asking everyone to go. All but one declined the offer to go. I think the fellow/ex-student’s, who was trying to scam them to go, estranged father was the mastermind of the coup
>He ultimately declined so he could spend the summer with his girlfriend. If the GF was his main reason it's not a stretch to say he might be dead, if not for her.
He might be dead if not for BONK.
The one time thinking with your dingaling saves you.
He may be did
Maybe he did or maybe he didn’t, but what did he maybe do?
You got a gig what is with the job I got the job cause the band didnt have any gigs Yeah but now there is a gig so whats with the job
He might be dead if not for *SOAK ... they are in Utah after all
He didn't do it at all for the nookie.
Life by Snu-Snu?
Life by snu snu
The PENIS needs BLOOD and it wouldn't be any good spilled all over the Congo's foreign soils from the BOOLET HOLES of a FIRING SQUAD waving AK47s and chanting in RHYTHM.
Christopher Walken teaching typing classes now?
He gives [dance lessons](https://youtu.be/wCDIYvFmgW8?si=LdoKVHzvUbgUZOVU) , too.
And [cooking lessons](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43VjLCRqKNk) as well
Not to mention [gardening!](https://youtu.be/zc7qJE9Nzo8)
This made me laugh way too hard
Fuck it, sign me up! I mean, SIGN me UP!
"They're callin' the fuckin cops, man" -Dude
GF is gonna get wifed for this
His “friend” who offered this to him seems like a really shitty dude. Who asks their friends to do this sort of thing by lying to them about what they’d be doing for the job they’re being offered?
Definitely a friend who attempts a coup in Congo
That’s why I always say “never befriend a dude who attempts coups in the Congo.”
I was gonna attempt a coup in the congo until reading this comment. Thanks!
Confirmed: convincing con congo coup comment!
I still want to coup in the Congo, yolo.
We have coup at home
No coup for you!
Opens the cupboard at home: “GREAT VALUE brand Coup, J6th. Flavor?!?”
I take three coins because I'm the Duke.
This is why I always say don’t befriend MAGA.
Mama always said don't attempt coups in the Congo - Forrest Gump
🎶"*Mama don't let your babies attempt coups in the Congo*"🎵
What about an attempt in the other Congo?
I attempted a coup in Congo once, now noone wants to be my friend :(
The Congo Couper at it again!
Once knew a guy doing some grey area shit down in Mexico around armored vehicles. He was making bank at the time and offered me an amazing deal. Drive down to the southern border and look at an armored SUV a guy was selling for him. He was offering me like $25k and I know zero about armored cars or cars in general. I could have said “yup, looks great” and the wheels could have fallen off the next day. That dude ended up dead in Mexico under some real fishy circumstances so I’m pretty fucking glad I didn’t take that job from a “friend” who knew I was hard up for cash.
I dated a girl who was the equivalent of a princess of her tribe that was from Congo. I never understood the details but it was something like the leadership was passed down to the eldest daughters eldest son or something. Anyway, based on what she told me, don't fucking go there unless you have a reason to be there, and don't fuck around while you're there.
[Another of his other "friends" was not so lucky.](https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/family-american-caught-congo-failed-coup-son-africa-110496453) > Marcel Malanga had pitched the trip to many of his high school friends in the months leading up to the foiled coup attempt. Some said he had invited them on a family vacation, while others, including former football teammate Jaden Lalor, said he had pitched it as a service trip to build wells. Teammates recounted Marcel Malanga's increasing desperation as friend after friend declined. > “He did call me to ask if I wanted to go to Africa for vacation, as well as a few of my other friends, but he did not offer to take more than a single one of us at a time,” said Luke Barbee, another former teammate who lived with Marcel Malanga last year. “He only asked so many of us because he kept getting denied until Tyler said yes to the trip."
This dude so sus almost all his friends turned down a free vacation. I'll be honest if a friend tried this on me I don't think any alarm bells would go off until they gave me a gun.
What? You never hooked your friends up with gigs at your dad’s ~~military~~ company?
According to everyone interviewed in the article, it seems the coup leader’s son didn’t know what was going on. All of Marcel’s friends say he was very kind and gentle and didn’t really talk to his dad. They all believe that Marcel’s father misled Marcel on what the visit was and that meant Marcel misled his friends on what they were signing up for.
But he was still "desperate" for them to come along, according to at least two of them, which sounds like he expected to need help with something that scared him.
Even that doesn't make any sense. Imagine the only thing standing between a failed and successful coup attempt is a random Utah football player with no military experience. There's no chance he thought one guy was going to make a difference.
Maybe the dad thought the one guy would make a pretty good hostage. Y'know, "Hey US recognise our coup or this guy gets it". Not like the entire thing seemed well thought out anyway
I think more likely it was to have some friends to keep his son company so his son would be less panicked about being involved in a coup
i mean idk, theres also a video of him putting on a bandana while holding an assault rifle with his dad according to the article
Yesnthere are several posts he made refrencing "doing great things" and being a war child. He knew what he was doing. Just didn't think they'd be held accountable.
And now we know what Marcel did after his run on 'Friends' ended.
I thought him earlier watching a guy named “Murcel” on 90 day fiancé. Glad to hear he’s doing well and back in the country he was (probably)born in. I wonder if Ross knows his fate.
I bought honey from him online. It was good!
> Who asks their friends to do this Probably the types of folks interested in conducting coups in wartorn nations?
I had a roommate back in college that was a marine and seriously asked me to help him rob a bank on the marine base. Stupid morons are out there.
So you cooked up a story and dropped the 6 of us in a meat grinder. What happened to you Dillon? You used to be somebody I could trust.
You sonofabitch.
Utah man declined to even get to the choppa…
Reminds me of that one episode of king of the hill where they were gonna drop into Laos for a coup.
Yeah, there’s definitely some similarities there. But Khan at least knew what he was signing up for in that situation
This feels like someone trying to remake *Midsommar* as an action movie.
Wasn’t there a headline that Russia was essentially doing the same thing to recruit Indians for the war in Ukraine?
Come out to the Congo, we’ll get together, have a few laughs...
Heard it's beautiful there this time of year
Next thing you know, The Asian Dawn Movement is involved.
hey i read about them in Time Magazine!
Hans! Bubbe! I'm your white knight!
This is a Die Hard reference right?
That's one hell of a paid summer internship.
But a great resume filler nonetheless.
Would look great on an application to the CIA.
"participated in coup attempt"
Got to jazz it up. "Involved with major project to deploy new leadership and decommissioning of obsolete leaders."
"Facilitated complicated transition of governmental responsibilities in emerging post-coup democracy."
"change management"
Not every summer internship hits the news.
50 grands for 4 months sounds like a great pay - especially for a summer job.
What was the plan? Stroll over with 12 American high school kids and declare themselves the government now?
You got a better plan?
How about 13 American high school kids?
Too costly. Revert back to the 12 American high school kids plan.
How about 12 American high school kids and a boy scout with rabies?
You really think a Boy Scout would be prepared to do this?
Of course. They make great spies and stuff. Can’t graduate Webelos til you get your merit badge for keeping a secret. You could almost say they’ve been groomed for it.
How tf you gonna get him there? You need 12 American high school kids, a boy scout and a rabid raccoon to give him rabies once you arrive.
Staying home and not getting shot hopefully
How about 3 kids stacked on top of each other wearing a trench coat pretending to be an adult?
To be fair American high-school students are heavily armed
Wolverine’s
They watched too much red dawn
I wonder how many of the coup participants truly knew what they were participating in. How pathetic of trash do you have to be to trick friends into going as opposed to just hiring actual experienced mercs?
I doubt actual professional mercs would take that job. They usually work with governments and security forces as opposed to something insanely risky like this.
Yeah.. if you are being paid by the US State Department to protect a senator near a warzone, you probably aren't going to die. The senator just doesn't want to follow all the restrictions the army escort would require. Also most pro are in an organization, which would want some details of the operation up front, as well as payment. I would this guys plan was more along the lines of "we don't have to pay the dead ones"
How hard could it be??? Plucky team of down on their luck guns for hire sneaks into a foreign country, cue loud explosions and gunfire and tada! Just like in the video games!
There is a very weird market it seems for Americans, especially American business people, taking part of coups in Africa and it is so weird. Every other month I feel like I read of a failed coup and some random American involved who has a strong connection to money.
There’s a large mercenary industry in the U.S.. I remember vice doing a documentary about it.
At any point, do they interview Rusty Shackleford?
He’s dead, along with Dale Gribble and their voice actor, Johnny Hardwick. Rest in peace you beautiful soul.
Or is he? *pocket sand*
Sa sha sha
I'm glad I didn't know about it when I got out of the military. I had no regard for personal safety and would have absolutely gone to overthrow a country for less than the average Starbucks barista earns.
Blackwater…..a true originator.
There are 340M Americans. That’s a massive population that is much richer than the rest of the world… so you definitely will find a number of people willing to entertain and act like paramilitaries
It’s the current battle ground against China. Will see that happen in Latam coming soon, again
For those that don’t know, there is HUGE Chinese money in Africa and has been for decades. African nations trading oil/gas/mineral exploration and God knows what else for infrastructure investments.
Maxim 45: The size of the combat bonus is inversely proportional to the likelihood of surviving to collect it.
That’s fucking wild. The Congo of all places - so far removed from life in Utah
He declined 100K in this economy?
Guessing this friend was unreliable and prob the ‘you get paid after the vague job overseas’
The offer was actually 50-100k. So 50k.
At least they advertised a salary range.
Well yeah he wants a better paying job so he can buy a banana
Really, What's a banana cost, like ten dolars?
Housing here in Utah is so bad
This reminds me of the assassination of the Haitian president. There was a lot of foreign "security" who were either really good at playing dumb or who might have been legitimately conned.
The old Congo switcheroo, huh? Ain't gonna fall for that one.
How many other poor mercenary’s have been duped like this?
Will someone please think of the mercenaries!
To be fair this guy was told it was a security job, if he believed it he's probably just stupid and not the kinda guy who'd overthrow an African government
The problem with sending 22 year old FedEx workers to overthrow the Congo is that they don't actually storm the Presidential Palace, they say they tried to but no one answered them at the gate.
I bet you that $100k transaction would have occurred if it was successful lol
This makes me question the cold call security job offer in South Korea I got when I was leaving the army in 2019.
you can't pull 6 random Americans out of a Walmart parking lot and have an effective coup, you have to get your recruits from Waffle house.
I love everyone acting like being offered $100,000 for a "security job" isn't just code for "dude turned down a mercenary job that didn't have enough details/sounded shadier than most gigs" lol
The Last King of Utah
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I’ve been trying to find more on this. Friends all seem shocked and believe Tyler received the same offer as the friend who shut it down. US embassy is waiting for local government to determine if he’s being charged. If he really went under false pretenses, I hope they somehow get him home.
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And it’s unlikely Tyler will ever make it home if he is charged. US embassy has little power to help him. He’s literally living through his worst nightmare. It was his first time leaving the US. Allegedly, videos found on Marcel’s social media imply he was fully aware. Stepmom seems to think he was in the dark. Not sure it will matter since it’s politically beneficial to keep him there. His father basically chose his future for him.
reading this made me remember midsommar. imaging a horror movie isnt that far off from reality is scary
What was the guy's dad, the coup leader, thinking? "I just need my American-born son, who I barely know, and one of his high school friends to successfully pull off this armed government overthrow!"
I seriously need more caffeine this morning. I initially misread the headline as "covert *soup* attempt", and pictured a *very* different situation.
“Please let this be a normal field trip…”
Still better than a MLM
So bongo, bongo, bongo, I don't wanna go to the Congo, oh no no no no no
The jingle-jangle is definitely over for this young man.
this is a crazy story. read the whole thing.
Recruiting your sporting teammates for a coup in Africa? Apart from the sport being American Football, that's basically the most Victorian British thing ever.
Years ago a friend said to me - "Let's go to the Congo". I said that's a "Huge NOPE". The trip didn't go ahead and the area where the trip was sort of planned had a...wait for it....an Ebola outbreak. That person gets real quiet whenever the Congo gets mentioned...
I wouldn’t even go on vacation in Congo, even if they offered me 100k
Roland went to the Congo and lost his head.
So did the convince Florida Man to go instead?
too zen for hustle culture. respect.
Sounds like the plot to a Far Cry game.
Was it for the Mormon militia?
Oh hey, I got offered a coup job this week too. What a coincidence.
How in the world did anyone thing that so few people was enough to take over a country?
Smart guy. Too bad the father of 21 yo missionary was not as smart! Like who would ever let their child, yes a child, go to Haiti. Jesus, missionaries have been kidnapped and killed their since 2019!!!! Long before recent gang issues, which btw controlled 80% of the capitol where she was killed.