Erik Prince in Africa

What is a PMSC?

For those of you who are not familiar or don’t know the subject, PMSCs are private military and security companies whose purpose is to provide military and/ or security services, irrespective of how they describe themselves. A few of these military and security services include the training of soldiers and personnel; protecting institutions, people, convoys, and strategic objects, maintaining and operating weapons systems, guarding prisoners, and providing logistics and technical services.

The government believes that using private military contractors completely benefits the U.S. with involvements in conflicts oversees, but they are wrong! What they fail to mention is the increasing number of complications surrounding private military contractors that have erupted in the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Using contractors to aid these countries and combat insurgencies is ineffective, and ultimately has failed to help these countries. In every aspect, the drawbacks of using contractors heavily outweigh the advantages. Continue reading to learn why these contractors are inadequate for providing the needs of the host country are a danger to the well being of America, and find out what you can do to help contribute in solving this pressing matter.

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Allegations of political infiltration operations[edit]

The New York Times reported in March 2020 that in recent years Prince had recruited former intelligence agents to infiltrate "Democratic congressional campaigns, labor organizations and other groups considered hostile to the Trump agenda."^[68]

Prince's efforts were reportedly conducted to assist Project Veritas, a widely discredited^[69]^[70] conservative organization that was described as disseminating "coordinated disinformation"^[71] due to its repeated use of deceptively edited videos in attempts to discredit Democrats, the media, and liberal groups.^[72]
Until mid-2018, Richard Seddon, a former British spy, headed the field operations for the plots and trained operatives in Wyoming at the Prince ranch.^[73] Prince also reportedly arranged for Project Veritas employees to receive intelligence training, which ended when the trainer quit because the group "wasn't capable of learning".^[74]
Prince continued to support Project Veritas after the organization's failure to disclose to state regulators the criminal conviction of its founder, James O'Keefe, resulted in the revocation of their charitable organization status in multiple states, and caused other donors to withdraw their financial support.^[75]
In May 2021, The New York Times reported that Project Veritas, with the assistance of a former British spy and Erik Prince, secretly surveilled government employees during the Trump administration with the goal of discrediting perceived critics of former President Trump. Tactics included arranging dates for FBI employees with the intent to record them. The operation failed to record a single official disparaging Trump despite extensive expenditures including rental of an expensive Georgetown home.^[76]

Proposed cooperation with the Wagner group and activities in Libya[edit]

In April 2020, The Intercept reported that Prince has offered his services as a subcontractor to Russian Wagner group's activities in Mozambique and Libya, suggesting to provide aerial surveillance platforms and a ground force.^[42]

Investigations by Rolling Stone and The New York Times, based on an internal United Nations report, have since revealed a number of connections between Prince and the Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar's attempts in 2019 to overthrow the U.N.-backed government of Libya.^[77]^[78]

Project Opus[edit]

On April 14, 2019, Erik Prince made a proposal of a $80 million deal to Libya's militia leader Khalifa Haftar to supply aircraft and other military equipment.

Called the Project Opus, it involved purchase of surplus military helicopters from Jordan.

The plan was designed to supply intelligence surveillance aircraft, drones, armed assault helicopters, maritime interdiction, and cyber intelligence and targeting capabilities to Haftar's forces.
The project was, however, aborted in June 2019.^[79]
The planning, management and financing of the Prince's project was done using three firms from the United Arab Emirates, including Lancaster 6 DMCC, L-6 FZE and Opus Capital Asset Limited FZE, which were using a web of shell companies.^[80]^[81]

Two of these Emirati firms, Lancaster 6 and Opus Capital Asset were linked to a team of private mercenaries and the unique Pilatus PC-6 ISR aircraft deployed to Libya to support Haftar.^[82]

Besides, UAE's L-6 FZE owned a crop duster, LASA T-Bird, which was part of Erik Prince's Project Opus.
A UN report in March 2021 revealed that the Light, Attack and Surveillance Aircraft (LASA), which debuted at the Paris Air Show in 2017, flew to Serbia for maintenance in August 2018.
The UN stated that the 'agricultural' plane was modified to carry some deadly rockets, including a 32-57mm Rocket Pod, a 16-57mm Rocket Pod and a gun pod fitted with twin 23mm cannon under the aircraft's wings.^[81]

Erik Prince was under an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for his alleged involvement in the attempted sale of Jordanian arms to the UAE-backed Khalifa Haftar, as part of the 2019 plan.

Previous investigations had revealed that Prince and others breached the Libyan arms embargo. As per the reports,
Prince worked with a Jordanian royal, Feisal ibn al-Hussein, to organize the sale and transfer of aircraft and other materiel from Jordan to Libya.^[83] Prince’s associate and an Australian pilot, Christiaan Durrant attempted to assure the Jordanian officials that he had “clearances from everywhere” and that the work was approved “at the highest level”.^[84]
However, after Jordan rejected the deal, a meeting was called by Prince at the Army and Navy Club in the US. Also attended by Durrant and a member of Donald Trump’s National Security Council, the meeting had an agenda where Durrant explained the NSC official about Prince's Libyan campaign to support Haftar and asked for the US’ support.^[85]
The United Nations had also tracked transfer of three aircraft owned by Erik Prince to a close associate for use in Libya.
It was also reported that the planes were transferred from Prince’s companies to a mercenary firm connected to him and based in the United Arab Emirates. Apart from the investigations, Prince was not charged with a crime.^[83]

Private equity investor in Africa[edit]

Prince leads a private equity firm called Frontier Resource Group, and until April 13, 2021, he was also chairman of Frontier Services Group Ltd, a Bermuda-incorporated logistics and transport company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.^[37]^[38]^[39]

Frontier Services Group is backed by China's state-owned CITIC Group and Hong Kong-based investor Johnson Chun Shun Ko [zh],^[40]^[41] with the Chinese government listed as the largest investor.^[42]

Prince's ventures advise and support Chinese investment in oil and gas in Africa.^[43]

In May 2014, it was reported that Prince's plan to build a diesel refinery in South Sudan, in which $10 million had already been invested, was suspended. The halted refinery project was reported to be supported personally by the country's president, Salva Kiir Mayardit.^[37]

Frontier Services Group was reported to be paid $23.3 million by South Sudan's Ministry of Petroleum to transport supplies and perform maintenance on oil production facilities.^[44]
Prince sold to the government of South Sudan for $43 million dollars three Mi-24 attack helicopters and two L-39 jets together with the services of Hungarian mercenary pilots to operate the aircraft.^[45]

One of the Hungarian pilots attracted some infamy by using his Facebook page to boast about his daily killings.^[45]

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