In case you haven’t read the news lately, President Trump has faced a bit of an uphill battle securing peace deals in Ukraine and Gaza. But he has had success in an unlikely place: the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Last week, Rwanda and the Congo—bad history there, we’ll get into that—signed a deal under the watchful eye of Marco Rubio that aims to bring an end to the years-long, bloody conflict between the two neighbors (and also, it seems, give the US major mineral rights).
So, what on earth is Trump doing in the Congo anyways?
How we got here: Before we get too deep into the deal, a bit of background:
- At nearly 1M square miles, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest country, and also among its most conflict-stricken.
- The DRC and Rwanda have been at odds since the Rwandan genocide and civil war in the 1990s, but things have heated up in the past few years: Rwanda (allegedly) supports a violent paramilitary group called M23 that has waged a bloody war in the DRC’s eastern provinces.
- The whole allegedly thing kind of went out the door when Rwanda deployed over 4,000 troops across the border to support M23 last year. Kind of missing the whole point of proxies, guys.
Thousands of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced by the conflict since the start of this year alone.
- M23, established in 2012 (on March 23, hence the name), is the head honcho in a coalition of rebel groups called the Congo River Alliance. They briefly disbanded, but came back with a vengeance in 2022.
- Since then, they’ve seized some pretty big cities in the DRC’s east, including a hub called Goma. More importantly (for Trump’s purposes), they’ve also got their hands on some pretty big mineral reserves.
- As Trump said of the conflict, “They were going at it for many years, and with machetes—it is one of the worst, one of the worst wars that anyone has ever seen. And I just happened to have somebody that was able to get it settled.” (Editor’s note: they might be armed with a bit more than machetes.)
Minerals for security: In March, the Wall Street Journal reported that the DRC’s president Félix Tshisekedi—taking a page out of Kim Jong Un’s book—wrote a letter to Trump offering the US a “minerals for security” deal. Sound familiar?
In his letter, Tshisekedi wrote:
- “Our partnership would provide the U.S. with a strategic advantage by securing critical minerals such as cobalt, lithium, copper and tantalum from the [DRC].”
- “It is in both our interests that American companies—like Apple and Tesla—buy minerals direct from source in the DRC and unlock the engine of our mineral wealth for the benefit of all the world.”
- Just so he wasn’t getting completely fleeced, he also proposed a “formal security pact” to help his army defeat M23, though the details on that are still a bit hazy even after the latest ceasefire. Should have chatted with the Ukrainians first.
Speaking his language: Needless to say, Tshisekedi had Trump at “securing critical minerals.”
Here’s a taste of what’s under the DRC’s vast landmass:
- Cobalt: The DRC has a whopping 70% of the world’s cobalt supply, making it far and away the global leader. However, most of that is refined in China. Cobalt is critical for jet turbine engine alloys; lithium-ion batteries for drones and other electric vehicles; and high-performance magnets for radar and missiles.
- Coltan: The DRC accounts for 50–60% of global coltan reserves. Coltan, or tantalum, is used in a bunch of high-tech applications and is vital for military electronics, especially stuff that has to be stable at high temperatures like missile guidance systems. It’s also key for high-temperature super-alloys used in jet engines and rocket nozzles.
- Lithium: Lithium, or as Elon Musk calls it, “the new oil,” is in pretty much everything that has a rechargeable battery. That includes military vehicles, portable energy systems, UAVs, and more than a few other things, namely those phones and laptops you’re reading this on. The DRC is estimated to hold among the world’s largest lithium deposits.
The DRC also has big time reserves of copper, gold, tin, tungsten, and other precious—very precious—metals. No wonder this ceasefire deal was so high on Trump’s wish list. One catch: China still dominates critical mineral refinement and has a big foothold in the DRC’s mines.
Erik Prince returns: Analysts suggest that US contractors could step in to fill the “security” part of the minerals-for-security deal.
Among those is (who else) Erik Prince of Blackwater fame (or infamy). As Tshisekedi was writing his enticing offer letter to Trump, his government was also in direct talks with Prince over securing tax revenue from mining operations and cracking down on mineral smuggling. Shortly after, our sweet Prince signed an agreement to help the DRC secure and tax its mineral wealth. The devil works hard but Erik Prince works harder.
The other peace deal: Under the terms of the deal, the DRC and Rwanda will:
- Form a joint security coordination mechanism within 30 days
- Monitor the withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers from the DRC in the next three months
- Commit to build a “regional economic integration framework”
And as for the US, we should expect a few more direct flights to Kinshasa added to Dulles Airport’s schedule.
- As part of the deal, US firms would get the rights to a chunk of the DRC’s critical minerals.
- Among those companies is investment firm America First Global, run by Gentry Beach, a college buddy of Donald Trump Jr. Because that’s what friends are for, right?
Uncertainty: As confident as Trump is about the deal, others are a little less sure. M23 was not included in the Trump-brokered truce, and the rebels have previously said they are not bound by any deal Rwanda signs. For what it’s worth, they’ve also kept up the fight with the Congolese army in recent days and have kept a hold on key eastern DRC cities and regions.
But worry not, Qatar is here to save the day:
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced during the White House meeting that the DRC and M23 are now holding talks in Doha.
- Representatives from Kinshasa and Kigali will also hold a “presidential summit” in the next few months to hammer out the details of the ceasefire.
Judging from the amount of peace talks held in Qatar, Doha must have a really good hotel loyalty program or something.