Blood and Gold: Wagner's Rise in Central Africa

Bungie is the capital of the Central African Republic and it's always in motion because here if you don't work today you won't eat tomorrow [Music] more than 70 percent of the people live below the poverty line eighty percent of homes don't have electricity there are no tourists few embassies most countries warn their citizens not to come at all because of Decades of lawlessness banditry and War a hundred years ago this country was a French Colony run by private French companies who treated the people like slaves forcing men and women to collect rubber Hond Ivory and work on plantations the local people got almost nothing in return except impression well the more things change the more they stay the same the Central African Republic is being exploited again This Time by Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group a private militia known for its brutality on the battlefields in Syria and Ukraine The Mercenaries do the Dirty Work that President Putin won't ask the Russian military to do the group is led by Putin's one-time caterer evgeny prigoshin he made his name in Syria but he makes his money here instead of rubber and ivory Wagner is after diamonds and gold I came to bangi to investigate how the notorious group managed to take over this country and tracked a fortune [Music] unlike the French colonialists the Russians were invited here 2017 a rebel movement aligned with the former president was threatening to overthrow the government the state had little control outside the capital a French peacekeeping mission was ending and French troops were leaving U.N peacekeepers lacking clear authorities were unable to stop the violence so president Faustian tuadera appealed to Vladimir Putin for help Putin was happy to expand Russia's footprint in Africa but instead of sending official Russian troops he sent in Wagner mercenaries as military instructors they could operate in the gray Zone keeping a Russian presence with plausible deniability after they arrived The Mercenaries expanded their operations going on combat missions to beat back the rebels day Wagner is everywhere patrolling in the open providing personal protection for the president government in power but at what cost [Applause] I went to meet Fidel guanjika a close advisor to the president I think we're in the right place the Palace of guanjika hello hello guanjika how are you I'm very well Richard welcome in central Africa and guangica Palace yes so juanjika Palace is this this is your Palace this is my Palace can you show us around a little bit let's go downtown to show you my Village here I would love that how many bedrooms in the guanjika palace uh too many too many about 80. 80. all right which car should we take no no no no no no no this is American Car let's throw this Japanese car all right fair enough all right he wanted to show me why Wagner is misunderstood that they brought peace to a country that has only known war anjika ran for president here in 2015 and became a local celebrity he loves Wagner and all things Russia Wagner is surprisingly popular here in part because they promote themselves there's a life-size statue in the capital honoring Wagner's sacrifices and bravery in defending the local people in battles against the rebels if your Ambassador knows that you are here in this area they wouldn't like it no no why not don't come here because you will be killed well I hope not it's the fake news you're like the king of this area I am the king of this area maybe the next king of central Africa Republic is that what something you want no this is a popular Market okay you lead the way show us where to go follow me exactly [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] this is the Central Market they sell meat Buffalo we live in our poverty but there is a call a peace here in central Africa does it feel hostile or aggressive it feels very calm very confused don't cut him do you like the presence here of the Russians loves erosion people too much what about all the resources they take gold they take minerals they take Timber fake news from Western opinion maybe Butler is bad in the other country but in our country they kill Rebels they bring to US democracy with never hear that Russia Soldier killed people had one more stop on his Wagner publicity tour hey let's go prove that the Russian company connects with the people and invests locally [Music] thank you Bogner has gone into the beer business [Music] [Laughter] the beaver is called Africa gold you'll pay you the brewery is owned by a senior Wagner representative [Applause] so this is the future huh this is the Young Generation you have no work that's what I was going to say where are the jobs no before because of what here is a ride the beer company runs a promotion a nugget of gold is supposedly hidden under a few lucky caps all right let's see if I'm lucky no luck no luck foreign Africa gold is a top seller here Wagner has proven to be a tough competitor just months after Africa gold was launched on the market a rival French Brewery in bangi was attacked CTV footage shows the moment two masked men dressed in what looked like Wagner uniforms lob Molotov cocktails into the brewery no one was ever arrested and Wagner's beer business has thrived ever since [Music] [Applause] didn't order enough to go around at the only Pediatric Hospital in bangi run by UNICEF saw room after room of babies starving to death country has one of the worst infant mortality rates in the world for the simple reason that mothers don't have enough money to buy food what's it like for you to see all these sick kids not all of them gonna make it how does that feel for you again this country has so much potential so much wealth under the ground yet it's the it has the third highest infant mortality rate in the world why do you think that is well foreign the Central African Republic has some of the richest diamond and gold mines on the continent and there are no major International mining companies working here because it's so dangerous gold mine is the biggest in the country completely unregulated and with no safety equipment workers break their backs digging out tons of Earth to sift for flecks of gold Wagner saw an opportunity The Mercenaries swept into indasama to clear the area of rebels but Witnesses say they really wanted full control of the Mind [Music] I met a woman who lived near the endosima gold mine one of the biggest in the country we've concealed her identity for her protection foreign what happened on the day when the Wagner troops micro mercenaries arrived they came in a pickup truck with heavy weapons they were armed white men in khaki uniforms when the people refused to leave the area around the gold mine the soldiers beat them and started whipping and torturing them it was three days later that they killed my husband I saw my husband's body and his colleagues they were buried in the same hole there were eight of them [Music] they had their work clothes on and they told Russian took a shovel to bury them I was under a tree watching who runs this country the Russians or the government um foreign [Music] but these days you can't hide what can be seen from above working with the research and advocacy group the century we investigated The Mercenaries violent takeover of indasama satellite imagery from 2019 shows the site when it was still dugged by hand a small workers Camp is clustered around the main open pit but by May of this year the workers Camp was literally wiped off the map and the once crude site was developed industrialized and expanded with a processing plant that analysts say can purify gold on site a government memo says the mine was officially handed over to a Russian mining company called appropriately Midas resources the memo says the mine's gold deposits could be worth the equivalent of nearly three billion dollars blood money for keeping the government afloat go back to guanjika to see if I could pin him down on what's really happening at the mines thank you let me ask you some serious questions hard questions okay what about this mine the indusima mine there are so many reports that Wagner troops came in brutalize the people in order to get them to leave no Russian people with our army secure the area of mind the area of diamond they don't steal they don't kill people they keep quiet in this area so who's taking it so who's who's actually nobody so you're saying there's no activity going on it is a lie it's a fake news it seemed guanjika wouldn't say anything that could offend Wagner after all the government's survival depends on them diplomats tell NBC News Wagner extracts roughly half a billion dollars a year from this country mostly in diamonds and gold Casio Como is a civil society activist and one of the few people here speaking out against Wagner the numbers that I've been told is that Wagner takes out about half a billion dollars a year yeah from this country in gold diamond Timber other things and doesn't put much money in what they put in is some guys with guns and mostly it's an extraction yeah business yep is that what you see as well we I mean let's say that Civil Society is aware of that but does it change something for the population no that's the that's the point actually even though we are aware but doesn't it change something that they're they're stealing from the poorest people but yeah but before that you know no one any way to give money to those people I mean no one it was even aware that there was that level of money in that you know in this area has any Wagner fighter been held accountable for anything in this country I don't think so never never do you think one day the people of this country will have access to the wealth of their country it's a long way to go uh but I I will not be there to see it I don't think my son will be there to see it or my you know your son is only four yeah I know but I don't think he will be there to see it because it's a really long long way to go um but you know the thing that we have to do is to teach people like to you know to push our people to really you know kind of regain access she said that this country is our country one of the main reasons many here don't see Wagner as a threat is that the company is very good at marketing itself especially to the younger generation sometimes all you need is a movie [Music] okay let's see thank you 69. all right thank you Wagner produced a feature-length film about its War to rid the Central African Republic of terrorist Rebels it's called The Tourist and it's about a Russian man who volunteered to bring freedom and Justice to Africa the rebels the Russians are fighting it was all shot on location and the plot lines are simple the Russians are good un peacekeepers are useless and weak and the French are colonialists scheming to return to power it was made with the government's full cooperation the president in the movie is played by a relative of the real president well guess what the Russians win they put down the rebellion and save the day it's basically a Russian Rambo and it's okay it's violent I would say I would I would give it a maybe three out of five stars but it is part of a much wider propaganda effort where Russia is selling its message as the savior of this country and it seems to be working hello how are you fine so have you seen the movie do you think it's true or do you think it's propaganda um it sounds like you think the Russians helped this country the same way they did in the movie but the tourist is largely fiction secret I met a militia fighter who went on missions with Wagner they were supposed to be fighting Rebels just like in the movie people on the streets here seem to like the Russians what did you see and what do you know that the people on the street here don't know I was working with the Russians hunting Rebels when we arrived in one Village they told the chief to show them where the rebels were they beat him and tied him to a tree when he said he didn't have any information they killed him another time when I was working with them they found a vehicle [Music] it was a Land Cruiser and they thought it belonged to the rebels they killed the whole family inside including children with their father and mother during my time with them I saw them kill over 30 people people who were not Rebels working with the century NBC reviewed dozens of accounts of atrocities committed by Wagner including murder kidnapping and rape the U.S treasury has repeatedly put sanctions on the group its leaders and its companies for crimes still no one has ever been held to account in this country Wagner has free reign and that could be because they have a very important Ally president Faustian Twitter first invited Wagner into the country and now relies on the group to stay in power I wanted to know if he thought he'd made a deal with the Devil Mr President it's a real pleasure Richard Engel thank you very much thank you very much I understand why you reached out and you you accepted Russian help are you happy with it is what do you say about reports that allege that the the Russian forces who you brought in to help secure this country have committed abuses foreign we've talked about Russia but the word Wagner has an come out of your your mouth what is this group what do you think of of Wagner news [Music] phrase stuck with me it seems Putin's modality of cooperation is to use mercenaries to prop up weak governments and take what they can Wagner is using the Central African Republic as a model and training ground as it expands its operations across Africa offering Security Services to places that have two things in common natural resources and armed conflict I reached out to bogner's boss evgeny pregosian for his response to what we'd seen in the Central African Republic he responded quickly with a voice note foreign [Music] 's message was intimidating but not altogether surprising after all he's building a valuable Empire in Africa and he doesn't appreciate journalists poking around in it weeks after I visited and his Wagner Fighters launched a short-lived Mutiny against the Kremlin said it was an act of protest over failures in the war in Ukraine Putin called pregosian a traitor but then cut a deal with him and let him live why it's possible his operations in Africa may be too valuable to give up a month after the Mutiny Putin hosted a summit for African leaders in Saint Petersburg president quadera was on hand and so was pregosian who claimed Wagner's Africa network is not only intact but growing especially in the Central African Republic where president tuadera flanked by Wagner mercenaries is pushing through a referendum to change the Constitution setting him up to potentially be president for life giving Wagner free reign here for years [Music] but it all seems so grossly unfair that yet again a private company working for a foreign government is taking so much from people who have so little this river is the lifeblood of this country and always has been but it has also brought problems Outsiders slavers people looking to exploit this country it was a French Colony for a long time and now many say it is becoming a Russian Colony but the goal is the same Outsiders foreigners coming in to take the country's wealth by force foreign [Music] thanks for watching our YouTube channel follow today's top stories and breaking news by downloading the NBC News app

Channel: NBC News

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Id: 5sDQAW_VGg0

Length: 26min 21sec (1581 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 05 2023