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Article: Trouble on oily waters. (how Brigadier-General Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo rules Equatorial Guinea and how discovery of oil in islands could affect the country)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- February 24, 1996
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THIS is not a good place for politicians. Most have served time in the notorious Black Beach prison, and some bear scars of torture as public servants in other countries bear medals and honours. Through violence and terror, for the past 16 years Brigadier-General Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has intimidated this tiny and squalid tropical state in the armpit of Africa. He came to power by booting out, then executing his uncle, the self-styled "Unique Miracle" Francisco Macias Nguema.
Paranoia reigns. Soldiers are rarely trusted with weapons, and almost never with ammunition. Only the president's bodyguard of Moroccan mercenaries and the elite "Ninja" force are ...