On April 1, 2025, the U.S. Department of State announced the appointment of Massad Boulos as Senior Advisor for Africa. Already serving as the President’s Senior Advisor on Arab and Middle Eastern Affairs, Boulos now becomes a key figure in Washington’s engagement with the African continent at a time of heightened tension in the Great Lakes region.
Starting April 3, Boulos will travel with Deputy Assistant Secretary Corina Sanders to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda. The mission aims to support efforts toward lasting peace in eastern DRC and to promote American private sector investment in the region, particularly in infrastructure and critical minerals.
The visit comes amid a deteriorating security situation. Since late January 2025, M23 rebels—backed by the Rwandan Defense Forces (RDF)—have seized control of Goma, and by mid-February, they had captured Bukavu and the nearby Kavumu airfield. These offensives have caused mass displacement and escalated tensions across the region. In response, on February 20, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed targeted sanctions on James Kabarebe, Rwanda’s Secretary of State for Regional Integration, and Lawrence Kanyuka, political spokesperson of the M23, for their roles in fueling the conflict.
President Félix Tshisekedi is also using this diplomatic occasion to seek deeper engagement with the United States. He has proposed a bilateral partnership that would grant the U.S. preferential access to Congolese natural resources—such as cobalt, lithium, and copper—in exchange for enhanced security assistance and stronger diplomatic backing against foreign involvement in the conflict.
In a notable gesture that may ease tensions with Washington, President Tshisekedi has commuted the death sentences of three American citizens previously convicted of participating in an alleged coup plot in 2024. Marcel Malanga Malu, Tyler Thompson, and Zalman-Polun Benjamin Reuben were sentenced to death by a military court in September 2024. A presidential ordinance, read on national radio on the night of April 1, announced that their death sentences were officially lifted. The judgment had been confirmed on January 27, 2025, and became final on March 9. Tshisekedi’s decision was reportedly based on recommendations from the prosecution and the request of the Minister of Justice.
The appointment of Massad Boulos and his upcoming mission signal a recalibration of U.S. policy in Central Africa, blending diplomacy, security cooperation, and strategic economic interests. His tour could mark a turning point in Washington’s engagement, as the U.S. weighs how to respond more assertively to the region’s growing instability and global competition for Congo’s vast mineral resources.
Therwandan
