Army aide designated as drug kingpin

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The action prohibits Americans from conducting financial or commercial transactions with the two men and freezes any assets that they have in the US.

“Today’s action underscores the harmful role that narcotics-related corruption plays in West Africa, especially in Guinea-Bissau,” Adam Szubin, director of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, said in a statement.

Targeting current Air Force chief of staff Ibraima Papa Camara and former Navy chief of staff Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto “impedes their ability to profit from the narcotics trade and engage in destabilizing activities”, Szubin said.

The US moves follow recent military infighting in Guinea Bissau, which is a major hub for drugs being shipped from Latin America to Europe and one of the world’s poorest nations.

Soldiers briefly held Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior last week and ousted armed forces Chief of Staff Admiral Jose Zamora Induta.

That incident was preceded by the re-emergence of Na Tchuto, an ally of new armed forces chief General Antonio Njai, from refuge in a UN building.

Source: GULF TIMES