Nothing is spared: Drones, Sukhoi jets, Burundian forces, and Latin American mercenaries—alongside FDLR and Wazalendo militias—target the most vulnerable across the High Plateaus. Moving from Bujumbura and Kisangani to Goma, they demolish schools and hospitals and slaughter cattle, choosing to terrorize civilians rather than face the ARC (Revolutionary Congolese Army) in frontal combat
As the Trump administration doubles down on its “Minerals-for-Peace” strategy, a stark reality is emerging from the High Plateaus of South Kivu: the very minerals intended to secure the American tech future are being extracted from a zone of state-sponsored extermination.
As thousands of members of the Banyamulenge diaspora marched on the White House and Capitol Hill on April 20, 2026, the narrative of “stability” collapsed.
While the December 2025 “Washington Accords” promised stability, they have instead provided a diplomatic shield for a regime in Kinshasa that is now being labeled a “dictatorship of genocide and extermination”, as we wrote in DRC: The Black Hole of Justice.
From Washington to London and Nairobi, the message was clear: ‘Stop the Silent Genocide.’ An estimated 5,000 protesters in the U.S. capital urged President Trump to break the silence on the Washington Mineral Deal and hold the regimes in Kinshasa and Bujumbura accountable for the siege of Minembwe.
The Legal Illusion: Why DRC Minerals Fail U.S. Import Laws
Despite the high-level handshakes in D.C., a massive legal hurdle remains. Under Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act and the transparency protocols of the Strategic Asset Reserve (SAR), the U.S. is prohibited from importing “Conflict Minerals.”
The current military blockade of Minembwe—orchestrated by the FDLR (Renowned genocidal militia)-Mercenaries-Burundi Army-Wazalendo-FARDC coalition against civilian populations in the Kivus —directly triggers these legal bans. As Tech-Biz.Today detailed in The Siege of Minembwe: Anatomy of Blockade, and The Economics of Extinction in the Kivus, the government is using starvation and drone strikes as tactical weapons. Under U.S. law, any mineral sourced from a region where state forces are complicit in mass atrocities is legally “tainted.” This makes the Washington deal a house of cards: the U.S. cannot legally import the very minerals it has spent billions to “secure.”
FADRC Sukhoi Jet bombing Minembwe
Corruption at the Core: The Brussels Connection
The credibility of the Washington deal is further eroded by the staggering corruption within the Congolese Presidency. In this mater the verified legal threat is the July 2025 criminal complaint filed in Brussels by lawyers Bernard and Brieuc Maingain.
Filed with federal prosecutor Ann Fransen, this complaint targets nine members of the President’s inner circle—including his brothers, sons, and the First Lady. The allegations include:
- Systemic Embezzlement: Siphoning mining revenues into offshore accounts.
- Looting of State Assets: Specifically targeting the mining provinces of Lualaba and Upper Katanga.
- Family Enrichment: As noted in DRC Plunder: The Washington Mineral deal compromise, the Congolese judiciary has been neutralized, leaving the Belgian courts as the only venue for accountability.
Press Conference – Legal complaint filed with the Brussels Federal Prosecutor against members of the Tshisekedi family (Left: Attorney Bernard Maingain; Right: Jean-Pierre Muteba, a Katanga civil society member) – July 8, 2025 | Photo RTBF
The Dictator’s Script: Genocide as a Policy Tool
Perhaps most chilling is the evidence of a “genocide process” in action. The Kinshasa government has transitioned into a military dictatorship that uses ethnic exclusion to clear mineral-rich land. The targeting of the Banyamulenge, Batutsi and Bahema is no longer a “clash of militias”; it is a state policy.
As Tech-Biz.Today argued in How Congo’s Deadly Triangle Turns Blood into USD Cash,the logic is purely extractive. By blockading Minembwe and fueling the Wazalendo “patriots,” the government creates a wasteland that is easier to carve up for industrial mining concessions.
The “Blood Mineral” Verdict
The Washington mineral deal is becoming a “Bloody Deal.” When the U.S. signs agreements with a leadership facing credible embezzlement charges in Europe and genocide accusations at CPI and home, it risks more than just its reputation—it risks institutionalizing a “Mineral-for-Genocide” economy.
As we reported in DRC: The Black Hole of Justice the world must decide: is a cobalt supply chain worth the price of a community’s existence?
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