This is one of the craziest stories you'll hear about, and is just begging to be explored in greater detail. Guinea Bissau is a small country of just under 2 million people in West Africa, lodged between Senegal and Guinea. It's also where one of the craziest stories of the last year has taken place. It's by many accounts a narco state. And last February 1st, there was an attempted coup, possibly tied into the drug trade. Gunmen attempted to storm the presidential palace in Bissau, and a reported five-hour gun battle ensued. The coup plotters ultimately failed and the country's president, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, asserted control.
According to the president, the army wasn't behind this coup attempt. Instead, he pointed his finger at ex-rear admiral Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto and two accomplices, named Tchamy Yala and Pais Djeme. All three have pasts in drug trafficking.
The country is a major point of transit in the cocaine trade. A giant portion of Latin American cocaine is sent across the Atlantic to Guinea Bissau, a former Portuguese colony, where it's then transported to Europe. Wealthy Colombians reportedly openly reside in villas in the country's capital. This piece from Global Initiative casts doubt on whether it was a true coup attempt and not an excuse for a power grab. It highlights that, during the hours-long gun battle, only one person was allegedly killed. In google searches, it's difficult to find any casualty numbers at all.