James Lowen's chapter 8 focuses on the U.S. involvement in the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the first democratically elected Prime Minister of the Congo (now known as Zaire) in 1961. Lowen argues that the U.S. played a crucial role in Lumumba's assassination. The U.S. was concerned about Lumumba's close ties to the Soviet Union and feared that Lumumba's socialist-leaning policies would lead the Congo to fall under Soviet influence. The U.S. believed that Lumumba was a threat to American interests in the Congo, which included securing access to the country's valuable natural resources such as uranium, copper, and cobalt. To undermine Lumumba's government, the U.S. supported a secessionist movement in the mineral-rich province of Katanga, which was led by Belgian-backed separatist Moise Tshombe. The U.S. also supported the Congolese army chief, Joseph Mobutu, who eventually overthrew Lumumba's government in September 1960. After Lumumba's removal from power, the U.S. and its allies in the Congo continued to undermine his authority. The CIA and other U.S. agencies provided …show more content…
played a key role in Lumumba's assassination, which had significant consequences for the Congo and the African continent. The U.S. government expected his death, and that was the result. Lumumba's death paved the way for Mobutu's rise to power and his brutal dictatorship, which lasted for over 30 years and led to widespread human rights abuses and the plundering of the country's natural resources. During and directly after the assassination took place, Americans had no idea and would have never thought the U.S. government had anything to do with Lumumba’s death. Sometime after though, documents were released that contained information about trying to poison Lumumba. This made it clear to Americans that we were in some way involved in his death. It’s been sixty-two years since Lumumba’s assassination and people are still trying to get to the bottom of it