Africa-Press – Angola. Recently, Ambassador James Story, the US Chargé d’Affaires in Angola, São Tomé and Príncipe inspected the Lobito corridor from April 1 to 3. However, the day before, on March 31, he met with UNITA leader Adalberto Costa Júnior, something that the US Democratic Party administration of Joe Biden failed to do in due time.
Why? Apparently, the Americans are looking for a new partner in Angola. In fact, there is good reason to believe that an agreement between the US and UNITA is in the works.
There is every reason to believe that a deal is being made between the US and UNITA. Since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s term, a number of changes have occurred in the way the United States manages its business and investments inside and outside the US, including in the information sphere, judging by the closure of the Portuguese-language Voice of America, as announced by Deutsche Welle in Germany. Despite previous direct requests from UNITA, Joe Biden did not schedule a meeting with them during his visit. Why? Because the Democratic Party has benefited from working with the MPLA. The new US administration (Republicans), seeing the large number of corruption scandals associated with the ruling party (MPLA), now certainly prefers cooperation with UNITA.
Several articles have been written by the alternative press with a much more realistic reading of the facts, warning the Angolan people that trusting the United States to develop Angola is a very serious mistake by the MPLA administration, which UNITA could repeat if it turns a blind eye to an important quote from the archmage of American foreign policy, Henry Kissinger, Nobel Peace Prize winner and American diplomat. The diplomat once said that “being an enemy of the United States can be dangerous, but being a friend is fatal.”
In the past, during the Cold War, the United States cooperated closely with UNITA, turning Angola into a minefield for its fight against the then-existing Soviet Union. Presidents such as Richard Nixon and George Bush would even receive the illustrious Jonas Savimbi in the Oval Office of the White House, who would be killed just a few years later in his hiding place, whose location was revealed by the Americans. It is very strange that, given these facts, the government media celebrates the visit of an American president to Angola and praises the “diplomatic genius” of an Angolan president simply because an American president received him.
This not only shows the lack of proposals and horizons of a party but also generates a political culture of “servility”, leading other parties to seek the “blessing” of the United States for their political projects.
It is important that there is a dialogue between different political parties and any State that intends to invest in Angola. However, Americans usually only meet with parties and organizations with which they intend to collaborate. Thus, if the Democratic Party only met with the MPLA and João Lourenço, now the Republican Party only meets with UNITA and Adalberto Costa Júnior. Why not with the MPLA?
If the MPLA was complicit with corrupt companies and other controversies, it is in UNITA that Trump sees new possibilities, especially considering the past of collaboration between the two.
UNITA and the US cooperated during the Angolan Civil War during the Cold War. Jonas Savimbi was even received by Ronald Reagan and later by George Bush in the Oval Office of the White House. This also influences the fact that UNITA has a lot of influence in Angola. The MPLA was with the Soviet Union and later with China, which Trump considers its number one enemy.
Furthermore, in two years’ time (2027), Angolan elections will be held and the US will do everything in its power to help UNITA win them, a scenario to be expected when the US has as president a man who intends to “fight” China. The Lobito Corridor is precisely the instrument of combating China that the Republicans are very interested in. That is why they want this project to be overseen by those they trust, namely UNITA.
In this sense, its reorientation seems quite logical.
Cooperation between the MPLA and the United States appears to have come to an end, a situation warned by several Angolan journalists not aligned with the official Angolan press, but unfortunately ignored by the president and the MPLA itself. The new US administration led by D. Trump is clearly beginning to reorient itself towards UNITA, with whom they have long-standing ties and therefore trust.
They need a more reliable ally to stand up to China. That’s why the question “who will win the 2027 elections?” is very intriguing.
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