Erik Prince, a former head of the Blackwater security firm, sent weapons to a Libyan militia leader, violating the United Nations arms embargo.
A confidential UN report sent to the Security Council and obtained by The New York Times shows that Prince sent foreign mercenaries with weapons such as attack aircraft and gunboats to eastern Libya in 2019 to support Khalifa Haftar, the commander who was struggling to supplant the recognized Libyan government.
The mercenaries involved in the conspiracy also planned to assassinate specific Libyan commanders.
The report adds to the infamy of Blackwater, which received international criticism in 2007, when its contractors killed 17 civilians in Iraq. Prince, a former Navy SEAL and brother of the former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos
Betsy DeVosBiden faces reaction from the left on student loans When Randi Weingarten echoes Betsy Devos Schumer, Warren presents a bill asking Biden to eliminate student loan debt MOREmainly sends its resources to Africa, including many of its resource-rich but impoverished nations. He was also one of the former President Trump
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Prince did not cooperate with the UN investigation, but the charge that he violated the arms embargo around Haftar leaves him open to possible sanctions.
The report details Prince’s involvement in the ongoing struggle in Libya. The war pits Haftar, a former CIA strongman-insurgent-active, against the internationally supported government in Tripoli.
The government was supported after the Arab Spring uprising that killed Muammar Gaddafi and pushed the nation into anarchy.
Prince made his offer to help Haftar shortly after the rebel leader’s ferocious campaign to take Tripoli began. Trump also expressed support for Haftar days after the meeting between the prince and the commander.
As the mercenary operation in Libya quickly collapsed due to a dispute between Haftar and the troops, certain resources, including a cyber warfare team and several attack aircraft, remained after the mercenaries left.
The US Mission to the UN, which is a member of the Security Council, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.
The last time Prince was accused of violating international law was in 2012, when he was also accused of violating an arms embargo by sending arms to Somalia.