"Joseph Desire Mobutu, supported by Belgium and the CIA, seized power in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 1965. Mobutu was a Cold War darling of the Western powers and ultimately received more than $1.5 billion in U.S. military and economic aid. He was a colorful character who changed his name in 1972 to Mobutu Sese Seko Koko Ngbendu Wa Za Benga: "The all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to rule, will go from conquest to conquest, leaving fire in his wake." Mobutu was also a vicious murderer who stole the profits from the sale of his nation's resources. He lasted in power for thirty-two years until rebel Congolese forces, supported by armies from Rwanda, Uganda, and elsewhere, drove him into exile. Almost ten years after Mobutu's downfall, the DRC is a divided country where civilians are killed by various armies and militia on a regular basis."
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Anti-communistsMilitary leadersCatholics from the Democratic Republic of the CongoPresidents of the Democratic Republic of the CongoPeople from Belgian Congo
Original Language: English
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Sources
David Wallechinsky, Tyrants: The World's 20 Worst Living Dictators (2006), p. 326
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mobutu_S%C3%A9s%C3%A9_Seko
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Mobutu Sésé Seko
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