Until this year, Teodoro Obiang Nguema had never won less than<\/p>\n
97 percent of the vote in an election. Perhaps the immense
\ninternational scorn he has faced in recent years caused him to loosen
\nhis grip a bit, because he won only 93.7 percent when reelected to
\nhis sixth term as leader of Equatorial Guinea this year. He is the
\nworld’s longest-serving president, having ruled for almost 37 years.
\nAccording to local television stations, he has further consolidated
\nhis power by promoting his son, Teodoro “Teodor\u00edn” Obiang Mangue,
\nfrom “second vice president” to simply vice president. Power has been
\nin the family for Equatorial Guinea’s entire existence as an
\nindependent country. The current president toppled his uncle in a
\nviolent coup in 1979, before sentencing him to death by firing squad.
\nSince then, he has consolidated his grip over the country’s
\nindustries and is accused of diverting tax money into his personal
\naccounts. The apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree. In 2014, U.S.
\nauthorities forced Teodor\u00edn to relinquish his $30 million home in
\nMalibu, Calif.; a Gulfstream jet; a Ferrari; and dozens of pieces of
\nMichael Jackson memorabilia worth more than $1 million, all bought
\nwith money funneled through offshore bank accounts. Court documents
\nreviewed by the Justice Department showed that Teodor\u00edn received an
\nofficial salary of less than $100,000 but amassed more than $300
\nmillion in assets through corruption and money laundering.
\n\u201cThrough relentless embezzlement and extortion, Vice President Nguema
\nObiang shamelessly looted his government and shook down businesses in
\nhis country to support his lavish lifestyle, while many of his fellow
\ncitizens lived in extreme poverty,\u201d Assistant Attorney General Leslie
\nR. Caldwell said at the time. The problem of dynastic
\nauthoritarianism is shared by Equatorial Guinea’s slightly larger
\nneighbor Gabon, which also relies heavily on the oil and gas
\nindustry. Omar Bongo ruled Gabon from independence until 2009 \u2014 42
\nyears \u2014 and his son Ali is now president. Bongo enjoys close enough
\nties to the United States that he and his wife sat next to President
\nObama and the first lady at a state dinner in 2014. Gabon even held a
\nseat on the U.N. Security Council in 2010 and 2011. Across Africa,
\nleaders have historically resisted term limits and are often accused
\nof doing so to continue lining their pockets. To try to counter that
\ntrend, a wealthy Sudanese businessman named Mohamed “Mo” Ibrahim
\nannounced a $5 million annual cash prize in 2007 to be given to
\nAfrican leaders who step down in the interest of promoting democracy.
\nIn nine years, it has been awarded four times, not counting a prize
\nceremonially given to Nelson Mandela. The prize went unawarded this
\nyear. No African leader met Ibrahim’s “very high bar” for
\n“exceptional leadership.”
\nWashignton Post<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Until this year, Teodoro Obiang Nguema had never won less than 97 percent of the vote in an election. Perhaps the immense international scorn he has faced in recent years…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50621,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n