Erik Prince, former head of security contractor Blackwater, sent weapons to a Libyan militia leader in violation of a 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 planes and gunboats to eastern Libya in 2019 to kill Khalifa Haftar, the commander who fought to supplant the international, to support. recognized Libyan government.
The mercenaries involved in the conspiracy also allegedly planned to assassinate specific Libyan commanders.
The report contributes 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 former Education Minister Betsy DeVos
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Prince did not cooperate with the UN investigation, but the accusation that he violated the arms embargo around Haftar leaves him open to possible sanctions.
The report sets out Prince’s involvement in the ongoing struggle in Libya. The war pits Haftar, a former CIA asset insurgent strongman, against the internationally backed government in Tripoli.
The government was backed after the Arab Spring uprising that killed Muammar Qaddafi drove the nation into anarchy.
Prince made his offer to help Haftar shortly after the start of the rebel leader’s fierce campaign to take Tripoli. Trump also expressed support for Haftar days after the meeting between Prince and the commander.
While the mercenary operation to Libya quickly disintegrated over a dispute between Haftar and the troops, certain sources, including a cyber tool crew and several attack aircraft, remained as soon as the mercenaries left.
The U.S. mission to the UN, which is a member of the Security Council, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.
Prince last faced allegations of violating international law in 2012, when he was also accused of violating an arms embargo for sending weapons to Somalia.