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At the height of his power, Evgeny Prigozhin controlled the multi-billion dollar Wagner Organization and was one of the most feared and powerful mercenaries in the world.
But after a failed coup against President Vladimir Putin last June, he was quickly ousted and died in a plane crash a few months later.
Despite his death, the Wagner Group continued to prosper and military analyst Sean Bell He said it now poses a new threat to Western interests.
In the latest episode of the Red Matrix podcast, Bell explored the growing role of Russia’s mercenary operations in Africa and its impact on the West.
He said Wagner has evolved into “Russia’s official diplomatic tool” and now offers “regime survival packages” to willing clients in exchange for access to mineral resources such as gold and diamonds. said.
“Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali have all recently experienced military coups, which are typically transitional periods before returning to some form of democratic rule,” he said.
“However, with Wagner’s support, the military regime can be maintained semi-permanently and it can be mutually beneficial.”
So why is this important to Western countries?
Bell explained that Western countries have become increasingly reliant on many minerals, such as lithium, which are often sourced from mines in Africa.
He said that if Russia controlled these mines through Wagner, the West would be vulnerable to “energy blackmail.”
“Putin has already exploited the West’s dependence on Russian oil and gas to create a cost-of-living crisis, so funding mercenary groups supporting the regime in exchange for mineral rights is a challenge for the West. It creates a very real long-term threat to profits.”
Listen to the Red Matrix podcast here.
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