Central African Republic

The death of the mercenary group’s leader has created a window of opportunity in the Central African Republic for Western powers to offer an alternative.

Tensions hung over a trade summit in Johannesburg after the Biden administration suspended four African countries that had belonged to a program aimed at promoting economic development.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner paramilitary group, had visited the Central African Republic in the days before his jet crashed, a top adviser to the country’s president said.

At a summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, President Vladimir V. Putin offered free grain as he sought to shore up ties with the continent. But lower-than-hoped-for attendance among African leaders hinted at tempering support.

Over decades, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin amassed considerable clout in Russia and built businesses in at least 15 countries. His whereabouts and the future of his extensive portfolio are now uncertain.

Después del motín fallido de Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin debe decidir qué hacer con las tropas de Wagner en América Latina, Medio Oriente y África. Y ninguna opción luce bien para Rusia.

After Yevgeny Prigozhin’s failed mutiny, Vladimir Putin must now figure out what to do with Wagner troops in Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia made highly choreographed appearances in an effort to project power and control, and U.S. officials suggested Gen. Sergei Surovikin was probably being held.

The mercenary group is so deeply enmeshed in the Central African Republic and several other nations that it can’t be easily replaced, experts say.

The man who led a rebellion against President Vladimir Putin built a multinational commercial enterprise that helped fund his military operations.