BISSAU: Soldiers in Guinea-Bissau appeared on state television Wednesday saying they have seized power in the country, following reports of gunshots near the presidential palace, three days after national elections.
The president told French media he had been deposed and arrested.
It was the latest of several coups in recent years in West Africa.
“The High Military Command for the reestablishment of national and public order decides to immediately depose the president of the republic, to suspend, until new orders, all of the institutions of the republic of Guinea-Bissau,” spokesperson Dinis N’Tchama said in a statement.
He said they acted in response to the “discovery of an ongoing plan” that he said aimed to destabilize the country by attempting to “manipulate electoral results.”
The “scheme was set up by some national politicians with the participation of a well-known drug lord, and domestic and foreign nationals,” N’Tchama asserted, and gave no details.
The soldiers said they were immediately suspending the electoral process and the activities of media outlets, as well as closing all borders.
Guinea-Bissau has seen four coups and numerous attempted ones since independence, including one reported last month. The country also has emerged as a hub for drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe.
The presidential and legislative elections were held Sunday. Incumbent President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and opposition candidate Fernando Dias da Costa each claimed victory Tuesday, even though official provisional results were not expected until Thursday.
Gunfire was heard midday Wednesday near the presidential palace. An Associated Press journalist saw roads leading to the palace closed off, with checkpoints manned by heavily armed and masked soldiers.
An official from the presidential palace said a group of armed men tried to attack the building, leading to an exchange of gunfire with guards. Another official from the Interior Ministry said they also heard gunshots near the National Electoral Commission nearby. The two spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak publicly on the matter.
A key member of an international election observer group said the election commission chief was arrested and the commission office was sealed off by the military.
“The president has been speaking to people saying he’s being held by the military,” the observer group staffer told the AP. They spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not allowed to speak publicly on the matter.
French news outlet Jeune Afrique quoted Embaló as saying he was arrested in what he called a coup led by the army chief of staff. He said he was not subjected to violence.
“I have been deposed,” Embaló told French television network France 24.
Embaló had faced a legitimacy crisis, with the opposition saying his tenure had long expired and that they did not recognize him as president.
Guinea-Bissau’s constitution sets the presidential term at five years. Embaló first came to power in February 2020. The opposition says his term should have ended on Feb. 27 of this year, but the Supreme Court ruled it should run until Sept. 4.
The presidential election, however, was delayed until this month.
![]()
Soldiers in Guinea-Bissau appear on state television saying they have seized power
Short Url
https://arab.news/nvm6x
Soldiers in Guinea-Bissau appear on state television saying they have seized power
- The “scheme was set up by some national politicians with the participation of a well-known drug lord, and domestic and foreign nationals,” N’Tchama asserted
- The soldiers said they were immediately suspending the electoral process and the activities of media outlets
US slaps sanctions on Maduro relatives as Venezuela war fears build
WASHINGTON: The US Treasury imposed new sanctions Thursday against three of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro’s relatives as well as six companies shipping the South American country’s oil.
The move came as the White House said it will bring an oil tanker seized by American forces off the Venezuelan coast to a port in the United States, adding to growing fears of open conflict between the two countries.
Washington took control of the tanker in a dramatic raid that saw US forces rope down from a helicopter onto the vessel in an operation that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said was aimed at Maduro’s “regime.”
Treasury officials said three nephews of Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, were being slapped with sanctions, labeling two of the men “narco-traffickers operating in Venezuela.”
“Nicolas Maduro and his criminal associates in Venezuela are flooding the United States with drugs that are poisoning the American people,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
President Donald Trump’s administration has been piling pressure on Venezuela for months with a major naval buildup in the region that has been accompanied by strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats that have killed close to 90 people.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Thursday expressed support during a phone call with his ally Maduro, but with Moscow’s forces tied down in a grinding war in Ukraine, its capacity to provide aid is limited.
“The vessel will go to a US port and the United States does intend to seize the oil,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told journalists of the tanker.
“We’re not going to stand by and watch sanctioned vessels sail the seas with black-market oil, the proceeds of which will fuel narco-terrorism of rogue and illegitimate regimes around the world.”
Earlier on Thursday, Noem told a congressional hearing that the tanker operation was “pushing back on a regime that is systematically covering and flooding our country with deadly drugs” — a reference to US allegations of narcotics smuggling by Maduro’s government.
A video released Wednesday by US Attorney General Pam Bondi showed American forces descending from a helicopter onto the tanker’s deck, then entering the ship’s bridge with weapons raised.
Bondi said the ship was part of an “illicit oil shipping network” that was used to carry sanctioned oil.
- ‘Blatant theft’ -
Venezuela’s foreign ministry said it “strongly denounces and condemns what constitutes blatant theft and an act of international piracy.”
“They kidnapped the crew, stole the ship and have inaugurated a new era, the era of criminal naval piracy in the Caribbean,” Maduro said at a presidential event on Thursday, adding: “Venezuela will secure all ships to guarantee the free trade of its oil around the world.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday expressed concern over the escalating tensions and urged restraint.
“We are calling on all actors to refrain from action that could further escalate bilateral tensions and destabilize Venezuela and the region,” his spokesperson said.
US media reported that the tanker had been heading for Cuba — another American rival — and that the ship was stopped by the US Coast Guard.
Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Thursday he questioned the legality of the tanker seizure and that “any president, before he engages in an act of war, has to have the authorization of the American people through Congress.”
“This president is preparing for an invasion of Venezuela, simply said. And if the American people are in favor of that, I’d be surprised,” Durbin told CNN.
Washington has accused Maduro of leading the alleged “Cartel of the Suns,” which it declared a “narco-terrorist” organization last month, and has offered a $50 million reward for information leading to his capture.
Trump told Politico on Monday that Maduro’s “days are numbered” and declined to rule out a US ground invasion of Venezuela.
The Trump administration alleges that Maduro’s hold on power is illegitimate and that he stole Venezuela’s July 2024 election.
Maduro — the political heir to leftist leader Hugo Chavez — says the United States is bent on regime change and wants to seize Venezuela’s oil reserves.
The move came as the White House said it will bring an oil tanker seized by American forces off the Venezuelan coast to a port in the United States, adding to growing fears of open conflict between the two countries.
Washington took control of the tanker in a dramatic raid that saw US forces rope down from a helicopter onto the vessel in an operation that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said was aimed at Maduro’s “regime.”
Treasury officials said three nephews of Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, were being slapped with sanctions, labeling two of the men “narco-traffickers operating in Venezuela.”
“Nicolas Maduro and his criminal associates in Venezuela are flooding the United States with drugs that are poisoning the American people,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
President Donald Trump’s administration has been piling pressure on Venezuela for months with a major naval buildup in the region that has been accompanied by strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats that have killed close to 90 people.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Thursday expressed support during a phone call with his ally Maduro, but with Moscow’s forces tied down in a grinding war in Ukraine, its capacity to provide aid is limited.
“The vessel will go to a US port and the United States does intend to seize the oil,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told journalists of the tanker.
“We’re not going to stand by and watch sanctioned vessels sail the seas with black-market oil, the proceeds of which will fuel narco-terrorism of rogue and illegitimate regimes around the world.”
Earlier on Thursday, Noem told a congressional hearing that the tanker operation was “pushing back on a regime that is systematically covering and flooding our country with deadly drugs” — a reference to US allegations of narcotics smuggling by Maduro’s government.
A video released Wednesday by US Attorney General Pam Bondi showed American forces descending from a helicopter onto the tanker’s deck, then entering the ship’s bridge with weapons raised.
Bondi said the ship was part of an “illicit oil shipping network” that was used to carry sanctioned oil.
- ‘Blatant theft’ -
Venezuela’s foreign ministry said it “strongly denounces and condemns what constitutes blatant theft and an act of international piracy.”
“They kidnapped the crew, stole the ship and have inaugurated a new era, the era of criminal naval piracy in the Caribbean,” Maduro said at a presidential event on Thursday, adding: “Venezuela will secure all ships to guarantee the free trade of its oil around the world.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday expressed concern over the escalating tensions and urged restraint.
“We are calling on all actors to refrain from action that could further escalate bilateral tensions and destabilize Venezuela and the region,” his spokesperson said.
US media reported that the tanker had been heading for Cuba — another American rival — and that the ship was stopped by the US Coast Guard.
Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Thursday he questioned the legality of the tanker seizure and that “any president, before he engages in an act of war, has to have the authorization of the American people through Congress.”
“This president is preparing for an invasion of Venezuela, simply said. And if the American people are in favor of that, I’d be surprised,” Durbin told CNN.
Washington has accused Maduro of leading the alleged “Cartel of the Suns,” which it declared a “narco-terrorist” organization last month, and has offered a $50 million reward for information leading to his capture.
Trump told Politico on Monday that Maduro’s “days are numbered” and declined to rule out a US ground invasion of Venezuela.
The Trump administration alleges that Maduro’s hold on power is illegitimate and that he stole Venezuela’s July 2024 election.
Maduro — the political heir to leftist leader Hugo Chavez — says the United States is bent on regime change and wants to seize Venezuela’s oil reserves.
Latest updates
© 2025 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.