### Failed DRC Coup Plotters Will Serve Out Sentences in U.S. After Repatriation
*April 8, 2025, 12:06 PM PDT* — Three Americans convicted in a failed coup attempt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) last May are now set to serve their sentences in the United States, following a dramatic handover from Congolese authorities. Marcel Malanga, 22, Tyler Thompson Jr., 21, and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 36, were repatriated Tuesday morning, landing in the U.S. after months of diplomatic wrangling, according to a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa and confirmation from DRC President Félix Tshisekedi’s office.
The trio was among 37 people sentenced to death by a Kinshasa military court in September 2024 for their roles in the botched May 19 coup, led by Christian Malanga—Marcel’s father and a U.S.-based Congolese exile—who was killed during the attack. The plot saw armed men storm the presidential palace and the residence of politician Vital Kamerhe, leaving six dead, including Malanga, in a firefight with guards. The Americans faced charges of terrorism, criminal association, and murder, with Marcel claiming his father coerced him into joining, while Thompson’s family insisted he was on vacation, unaware of the scheme.
On April 1, Tshisekedi commuted their death sentences to life imprisonment—a move announced on national TV and widely seen as a gesture ahead of a Thursday visit by U.S. officials Massad Boulos and Corina Sanders. Days later, the DRC handed the trio over to U.S. custody, a transfer the State Department confirmed without elaborating, citing privacy. “They’re on their way stateside to serve out their terms,” an NPR source noted Tuesday, ending their detention in Kinshasa’s Ndolo military prison, where conditions drew human rights scrutiny.
The repatriation sidesteps the DRC’s reinstated death penalty—lifted from a 20-year moratorium in March 2024—since no executions have followed despite the sentencing. In the U.S., they’ll likely face federal prison, though specifics on location or adjusted terms remain unclear. Posts on X hailed it as a diplomatic win, with one user noting, “From death row to U.S. soil—crazy turn for these guys.” Critics, however, question if mineral-rich DRC’s move reflects a quid pro quo, given Tshisekedi’s February *New York Times* pitch for a U.S. minerals-for-security deal amid eastern rebel strife.
For Malanga (Utah-born), Thompson (a Utah FedEx worker), and Zalman-Polun (a Maryland cannabis entrepreneur tied to Malanga’s gold ventures), the shift closes a saga that gripped headlines—from a livestreamed coup to a courtroom reckoning. As Trump’s tariffs tank markets and global tensions simmer, their return marks a quiet resolution to a loud misadventure—one that tested U.S.-DRC ties and left families relieved, if still reeling.
