On February 10, local time, Guinea-Bissau President Embalo said that the country's former naval commander Chuto and two of his aides were behind the recent attempted coup, and all three have been arrested.
Embalo said the country's former naval commander, Admiral Chuto, and aides Yara and Jeme were the masters of the February 1 attempted coup and that they had ties to the big drug cartels. The attackers attempted to assassinate the President and the Prime Minister in an attempted coup, and the entire operation was well-funded and well-planned. Previously, Chuto had participated in several coups or attempted coups and had been sentenced to prison in the United States for drug trafficking.
Nbalo said that when participants in the attempted coup on the 1st attacked the Guinea-Bissy government building, he saw Yara and Jeme at the scene, when Chuto was at marine headquarters. Embalo said he also heard the attackers say he would call Chuto to ask for reinforcements.
Embalo also said the attackers included the same group of people who killed former President Vieira in 2009 and that rebels from Senegal's Casamance region were also involved in the attempted coup.
Chuto is 73 years old. In August 2008, Chuto, then commander of the Guinea-Bippian Navy, was suspended and placed under house arrest on charges of attempting to organize a coup d'état, and fled to the Gambia shortly after. At the end of December 2009, Chuto went to the United Nations premises in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, to seek protection. In December 2011, guinea-Bissau military thwarted a mutiny and arrested chuto and other mutiny leaders. After a coup d'état in Guinea-Bissau in April 2012, Chuto was suspected of involvement in drug smuggling to the United States. In April 2013, U.S. agents captured Chuto in international waters near Cape Verde and extradited him to the United States, where he was sentenced to four years in prison, and his accomplices Yala and Jeme were sentenced to 5 and 6.5 years in prison, respectively, and all three returned to Guinea-Bissau after their release.
Located in west Africa, Guinea-Bissau is one of the poorest countries in the world, having undergone several coups or attempted coups since independence from Portugal in 1974. On 1 February this year, President Embarlo of Guinea-Bissau and Prime Minister Nabiyam, together with ministers, were attacked by armed elements during a special cabinet meeting at the Government Building. A five-hour exchange of fire between the two sides resulted in 11 deaths, most of them military personnel, members of the Presidential Guard and officials.
(Original title: "Former Naval Commander of Guinea-Bissau Arrested on Suspicion of Planning an Attempted Coup")