Michigan native #ErikPrince proposes #deportation plan to #ElSalvador, report says

By Justin Engel, Apr. 14, 2025

"Erik Prince, the former CEO of #Blackwater USA and a Michigan native, is among a group of defense contractors proposing to expand plans for deporting #immigrants to a prison in El Salvador, Politico reported.

"The pitch would attempt to avoid #legal challenges by designating part of the El Salvador prison system as #AmericanTerritory, the report stated.

" 'It’s unclear how seriously the White House is considering the plan by Prince, who has drawn scrutiny for his firm’s role in a deadly massacre in Iraq two decades ago,' the Politico report stated. 'But it would give Prince’s group an unprecedented and potentially highly lucrative role in an expanded version of a transnational operation that has elicited its own web of controversies, in part because it has swept up immigrants who do not have criminal records in the United States.'

"The report coincides with President Donald Trump’s plans to host #NayibBukele, the president of El Salvador, at the White House on Monday, April 14.

"Since March, El Salvador has accepted from the U.S. more than 200 #Venezuelan immigrants — whom officials with President Donald Trump’s administration have accused of gang activity and violent crimes — and placed them inside the country’s notorious maximum-security gang prison. It is also holding a Maryland man who the administration admits was wrongly deported but has not been returned to the U.S., despite court orders to do so.

"Trump has ties to the family of Prince, an automotive supplier heir from Holland. Prince is the brother of #BetsyDeVos, the secretary of education during the first Trump administration.

"Prince, a major Republican donor, has been accused of acting as a back channel on behalf of Trump. As Trump was preparing to take office in 2017, Prince met with a official close to Russian President Vladimir #Putin in the #Seychelles, islands off the coast of east Africa. Special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on his Russia investigation said the meeting was set up ahead of time with the knowledge of former White House aide #StephenBannon.

"Prince soared to notoriety after Blackwater USA employees in 2007 shot and killed #Iraqi #civilians in Baghdad’s #NisourSquare during the Iraq war, casting a light on the role played by private contractors in U.S. military operations overseas.

"In the wake of the scandal the company’s name was changed and Prince sold his shares to a private equity fund."

https://www.mlive.com/politics/2025/04/michigan-native-erik-prince-proposes-deportation-plan-to-el-salvador-report-says.html

#ErikPrinceColonialism #Blackwater #Academi #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal #TripleCanopy #PrivateArmy #OffLeash #ProjectVeritas #Project2025 #TigerSwan #Fascism
#Authoritarianism

Exclusive- #Trump supporter #ErikPrince reaches deal with #Congo to help secure [steal] mineral wealth

Jessica Donati and Sonia Rolley
Thu, April 17, 2025

Excerpt: "Democratic Republic of Congo has vast reserves of #copper, #cobalt, #lithium and #coltan - a mineral used widely in smartphones, computers and electric vehicles - but has been plagued for decades by violence in its eastern region.

"The agreement between Congo and Prince initially involved a plan to deploy contractors to Goma, the capital of North Kivu province and the largest city in eastern Congo. But Goma is now under M23 control and that plan has been put on hold. M23 controls tracts of mineral-rich territory.

"A source close to the Congolese government told Reuters an initial deployment of Prince's advisers was expected to start in the south, far from the area controlled by #M23 and its allies.

" 'If you just look at Katanga, if you look at Kolwezi down just off the Zambian-Congo border, they claim that there's like $40 million a month in lost revenue of what's going out and what's coming in,' the source said.

"A diplomatic source also told Reuters the first stage of Prince's effort in Congo would focus on securing mines and tax revenues in copper-producing Katanga province.

"One of the sources close to Prince said advisers were expected to deploy with technical experts from a company specialised in testing and inspecting commodities. The advisers would initially target larger mines and expand as revenue collection improved.

"The source did not provide details on how the advisers would tackle corruption in the sector that has long drained revenue that would otherwise flow to the state.

"A source in the office of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi said an agreement in principle had been signed with Prince, but the details on where and how many advisers would be deployed remained to be established."

https://www.aol.com/news/exclusive-trump-supporter-prince-reaches-142935924.html

#ErikPrinceColonialism
#PrivateArmy #Academi #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal
#TripleCanopy #OffLeash #ProjectVeritas
#Project2025 #TigerSwan #Fascism #Authoritarianism #Colonialism #Mining #Pollution #Genocide #Corruption #CopperMining #MiningPollution #CorporateColonialism

#ErikPrince: Private sector can help with #MassDeportations

Leland Vittert
Tue, February 25, 2025

"Erik Prince, founder of the former security contractor #Blackwater, denied proposing a 'private army' for mass deportations and instead described a logistics plan to help the #Trump administration fulfill its immigration goals.

" 'This is not some idea of a private army,' Prince said Tuesday on NewsNation’s On Balance. 'It was a memo generated to describe how to achieve the logistics necessary to move the millions of people that they intend to deport.'

"Prince pushed back against a Politico report that described a plan circulated among Trump allies calling for 'processing camps' and a private citizen force to carry out deportations.

"He said that the memo outlines how to accomplish mass deportations 'in a #legal, #ethical manner” with necessary #DueProcess. [WHAT A JOKE!!!]

" 'If people think it’s a huge number, think about how we’ve been invaded. We’ve had millions of people float into the country illegally, actually paying the cartels to smuggle them in,' Prince said.

"According to the Politico report, Prince and other contractors submitted a 26-page proposal before Trump’s inauguration that included using private aircraft, 'processing camps' on military bases, and deputizing private citizens to make arrests.

"The plan reportedly carries a $25 billion price tag to deport 12 million people before the 2026 midterms.

"Prince suggested the government would eventually need the private sector to help achieve Trump’s immigration goals, noting that deportation flights 'for years, even when other administrations are doing it, were largely contractor managed and operated.'

Source:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/erik-prince-private-sector-help-044932521.html

#ErikPrinceColonialism #PrivateArmy #ErikPrinceColonialism #Blackwater #Academi #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal #TripleCanopy #PrivateArmy #OffLeash #ProjectVeritas #Project2025 #TigerSwan #Fascism #Authoritarianism

Dammit! I hate to say, "I told you so," but I TOLD YOU SO!

#Trump allies circulate mass deportation plan calling for ‘processing camps’ and a private citizen ‘army’

The group, led by #Blackwater veteran #ErikPrince, has close Trump ties.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/25/documents-military-contractors-mass-deportations-022648
#ErikPrinceColonialism #SilencingDissent #PrivateArmy #Russia #Spetsnaz #NightWolves #authoritarianism #NoDAPL #PutinsArmy #Fascism #Academi #TripleCanopy #ErikPrinceIsAWarCriminal #CorporateColonialism #CorporateInterests #WaterIsLife #WaterDefenders #StandWithStandingRock #LandDefenders #BigOilAndGas

How #Militaries Are Transforming #Agricultural Tech Into Deadly #Weapons

By Max Fenton
Sept 26, 2022

"A subsequent U.N. investigation found that one of [#ErikPrince’s] modified planes was due for #Libya, which has been subject to an international arms embargo since the outbreak of its brutal 2011 #civilwar. Known as #ProjectOpus, Prince and his associates attempted to sell the modified crop-dusters to #KhalidHaftar, a Libyan #warlord and one of the key players in the country’s civil conflict and power vacuum since the downfall of Muammar Gaddafi. The plane was thankfully intercepted in Jordan, where authorities demanded its military assets be removed. The plane later made its way to Cyprus, Balkan Insight reports, which is its last known location as of 2021 and where it may be undergoing mechanical servicing.

"Though largely foiled, Prince’s plans are a reminder of how #cropdusting planes are especially risky pieces of military technology when it comes to international law and #HumanRights issues in conflict. Many of the militaries interested in their use are alleged to have committed significant human rights violations in the course of irregular warfare campaigns, and the addition of a highly specialized attack plane to their arsenals may pose grave risks to those caught in the crossfire."

https://slate.com/technology/2022/09/crop-duster-agricultural-tech-military-conflict.html

#PrivateArmy #Xe #Academi #CorporateColonialism #PrivateArmies #WeaponizedCropDusters #AgentOrange

[Full article available via the #InternetArchive]

The #FBI Is Investigating #ErikPrince for Trying to #Weaponize #CropDusters

by Matthew Cole
February 20 2020

"Last May [May 2019], shortly after Congress accused Erik Prince of lying under oath and referred criminal charges to the Justice Department, an associate approached the #Blackwater founder to offer help and commiserate about Prince’s potential legal jeopardy.

"Prince, who once moved to the United Arab Emirates to avoid being caught up in a federal prosecution, immediately dismissed the associate’s concerns. He was untouchable, he bragged, and would face no legal troubles.

"'Not under this guy,' Prince said referring to President Donald #Trump, according to a person with direct knowledge of the exchange.

"That assumption is about to be tested.

"Prince, an heir to a billion-dollar fortune who is widely viewed as a shadow adviser to the president, is under federal investigation for his 2015 attempt to modify two American-made crop-dusting planes into attack aircraft — a violation of arms trafficking regulations — two people familiar with the investigation told The Intercept. The planes became part of private military services Prince proposed to sell or use in mercenary operations in #Africa and #Azerbaijan, as The Intercept has previously reported.

"The investigation into the modified crop dusters is one of several ongoing probes targeting Prince. Another focuses on the allegations that he lied to Congress during the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation into #Russia’s 2016 presidential election interference; a third concerns a 2017 armed aviation proposal to the #UAE, according to the Wall Street Journal."

https://theintercept.com/2020/02/20/erik-prince-fbi-investigation-trump-barr/

https://web.archive.org/web/20200414104709/https://theintercept.com/2020/02/20/erik-prince-fbi-investigation-trump-barr/

#PrivateArmy #Xe
#Academi #CorporateColonialism #PrivateArmies #WeaponizedCropDusters

#Blackwater Founder #ErikPrince Indicted for Arms Sales to #Libya

By Miriam Raftery

July 27, 2023 (San Diego) — "The name Erik Prince became familiar to many residents in San Diego’s East County when Blackwater, the private military contracting firm he founded, sought to build a #paramilitary training camp in Potrero.

"Now Austria has indicted Prince for alleged arms trafficking to Libya in violation of a United Nations arms embargo; at least one shipment of explosives reportedly went through #Austria using an Austrian business, BNN reports. Prince is accused of organizing a covert military operation to supply Libyan warlord #KhalifaHafter with war equipment for rebellion against a government backed by the U.S. and the U.N.

"If convicted, Prince could face up to five years in prison. However, it is unclear whether or not he will be extradited to Austria; Prince holds residency in both the U.S. and #AbuDhabi. Prince has denied UN allegations of arms peddling to Libya.

"The local #Potrero project drew massive opposition on #environmental grounds as well as the many controversies involving Blackwater, which Prince was CEO and chairman of at the time. The Harris Fire in October 2007 displaced many residents, but that didn’t stop them from showing up to vote and recall all five community planning group members who had voted for the project, which sparked national news headlines.

"The 2007 firestorms scorched Round Potrero Valley, where Blackwater planned to store #ammunition and a bunkhouse with 200 men in the box valley with only one exit.

"Blackwater ultimately dropped plans for the Potrero facility in 2008, ostensibly due to noise mediation requirements, although those had not changed since the project’s inception.

"Prince, a former Navy Seal before founding Blackwater in 2009, is no stranger to controversy. Three Blackwater guards were convicted in 2014 of manslaughter and another of murder in charges stemming from the massacre of civilians in Baghdad’s #NissourSquare in 2007. In March 2009, Prince resigned as Blackwater’s CEO but remained chairman of the board until the company’s sale in late 2010.

"Blackwater’s successor company, #Academi, was accused of #ArmsTrafficking in 2012 dating back to when Prince served as CEO and Chairman. Then in 2020, the #FBI investigated Prince for arms trafficking involving #cropduster planes converted for military use.

"He moved to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates in 2010, where he was hired by the crown prince to organize foreign troops for the #UAE and formed a new firm called #ReflectResponses, or R2. He later trained Somalis in anti-piracy operations with UAE funding.

"Prince also leads a private equity firm, #FrontierResourcesGroup and until April 2021, chaired Frontier Services Group Ltd., which had various business dealings in #Africa.

"Prince also drew controversy over revelations that he lied to the House Intelligence Committee in Nov. 2017 about his involvement in the #Trump transition team and was at a Trump Tower meeting that allegedly had backchannel communications with a representative of Russian President Vladimir #Putin. A Special Counsel in 2018 found evidence contradicting Prince, the Washington Post reported. The House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department which announced in 2020 that it had opened an investigation into Prince’s alleged perjury during his testimony.

"Politically well connected, Prince is the sister of #BetsyDevos, former Secretary of Education under President Donald Trump, and has been a major donor to numerous Republican candidates and a Trump-aligned super-pac."

https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/blackwater-founder-erik-prince-indicted-arms-sales-libya

#PrivateArmy #Xe
#CorporateColonialism #PrivateArmies #Fascism
#ErikPrinceColonialism #CorporateColonialism #Blackwater #TigerSwan