Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives

by Siddharth Kara

Nations asking for assistance in expelling the Belgians and reunifying the country. The UN responded with the largest ground operation since its creation to help stabilize the nation, but the forces were not authorized to expel Belgian troops. Lumumba turned instead to the Soviet Union for help. The possibility that the Congo, and especially Katanga, might come under Soviet influence put the United States, the United Nations, and Belgium into overdrive to dispatch Lumumba. On August 18, 1960, President Dwight Eisenhower met with his national security council to discuss the situation in the Congo and proclaimed that the U.S. had to “get rid of this guy.”5 The CIA hatched a plot to assassinate Lumumba using toothpaste poisoned with cobra venom; they settled instead on a plan to recruit Lumumba’s friend and the head of the army, Joseph Mobutu, to overthrow him. On September 14, 1960, Joseph Mobutu announced that he had seized control of the government. Mobutu had the army behind him, as well as the logistical and financial backing of the United States, United Nations, and Belgium. Mobutu expelled all Soviet troops and placed Lumumba under house arrest. On November 27, 1960, Lumumba managed to escape. The U.S., UN, and Belgium provided their intelligence services to assist with his recapture. Around midnight on December 1, 1960, Lumumba was caught and imprisoned by Mobutu’s forces. His supporters organized a counteroffensive and soon occupied half of the country. The incoming ...