America’s Backyard Betrayal: Feds Expose Deadly Scheme to Arm Africa Coup

Paul Riverbank, 2/8/2026U.S. thwarts arms plot fueling South Sudan turmoil; civilians bear brunt as violence and smuggling persist.

Federal agents stepped in before any weapons made it across borders or oceans. The central figures in the case, Peter Biar Ajak of Maryland and Abraham Chol Keech from Utah, were handed prison sentences—just under four years each, plus supervised release. Their plan reads like a thriller’s plotline: obtain an arsenal of formidable firepower, including ten Stinger missile systems, hundreds of grenade launchers and scores of automatic rifles, then send these to rebel forces in South Sudan, aiming to unseat the government and put Ajak himself in power.

What stands out about this affair isn’t just its audacity, but the calculated measures taken to keep it under wraps. Investigators discovered that Ajak and Keech disguised international wire transfers as if they were charitable donations for humanitarian aid. At least one document—a forged invoice—was meant to throw off any banking scrutiny or legal red flags.

They weren’t in the dark about the law. An arms embargo on South Sudan has been in place for years, and both men were fully aware that exporting military equipment without proper U.S. licenses carries hefty criminal penalties. The fact that they pressed on regardless underscores how high the stakes were for all involved.

John A. Eisenberg, serving as Assistant Attorney General for National Security, announced after the sentencing that from a quiet suburb outside Washington, Ajak had hatched plans to supply weapons for a violent coup. U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine echoed that sentiment, praising the multi-agency effort that thwarted the operation before any harm was done or American interests put at risk. According to officials, this investigation protected not only local communities but possibly American troops in the region, had the weapons ever found their way to a conflict zone where U.S. forces operate.

But this isn’t a story that ends with courtroom justice. South Sudan itself remains in freefall. More than a decade after its hard-won independence, the country is still battered by relentless conflict and failed peace agreements. The Secretary-General of the United Nations only days ago outlined harrowing statistics: nearly ten million people, close to the entire population of the small nation, are in need of aid, and violent attacks against humanitarian workers have escalated. Recent months have seen hundreds of thousands—370,000 by last count—forced to flee their homes, most recently in embattled Jonglei State.

Stories coming out of the country are grim. Aid convoys targeted in ambushes. A hospital once run by Médecins Sans Frontières reportedly riddled with gunfire. A health facility supported by Save the Children burned to its foundations. Even vehicles marked for medical use, and their supplies, have not been spared. The message from the UN has been clear and urgent: the targeting of humanitarian operations must, in their words, “stop immediately.”

If the international response often seems reactive, there are mounting reasons for vigilance. The U.S. and UN have both highlighted broader security threats: weapons and fighters slipping unobstructed into fragile African states, extremist groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda gaining traction, and an uptick in technologies—drones, cryptocurrency—being used to mask illicit dealings. American advisers and troops have been dispatched to assist African partners, and Ambassador Mike Waltz has urged for greater coordination to stem the flow of arms and fighters.

Agents involved with the South Sudan case were keenly aware of the potential consequences. John Helsing of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service noted that by halting the shipment, they’d also prevented advanced U.S. weapons from ever being turned against U.S. personnel on future African battlefields—a sobering consideration.

Even with these arrests, the underlying troubles persist. South Sudanese civilians live with no certainty that help will arrive or that tomorrow will be safer than today. Hospitals may close their doors in fear. Farmers abandon fields. Homes become ruins. And as more weapons slip through the shadows of the global arms trade, the question remains: what steps will the international community take—not just to react after the fact, but to keep such plans from ever reaching the point of no return?

The latest trial has wrapped, but for the people on the ground and those striving to aid them, every day brings new urgency. The cycle of violence and arms smuggling is unbroken, and the effort to enforce peace—as always—lies tangled in the hands of those both near and far from the world’s forgotten frontlines.

If you drove through a quiet Maryland neighborhood last year, you’d have found little to hint at international intrigue. Yet behind the scenes, according to the Department of Justice, that’s exactly where a bold scheme took root: an effort to smuggle nearly $4 million in military-grade arms to a country shaped by turmoil—South Sudan.Federal agents stepped in before any weapons made it across borders or oceans. The central figures in the case, Peter Biar Ajak of Maryland and Abraham Chol Keech from Utah, were handed prison sentences—just under four years each, plus supervised release. Their plan reads like a thriller’s plotline: obtain an arsenal of formidable firepower, including ten Stinger missile systems, hundreds of grenade launchers and scores of automatic rifles, then send these to rebel forces in South Sudan, aiming to unseat the government and put Ajak himself in power.What stands out about this affair isn’t just its audacity, but the calculated measures taken to keep it under wraps. Investigators discovered that Ajak and Keech disguised international wire transfers as if they were charitable donations for humanitarian aid. At least one document—a forged invoice—was meant to throw off any banking scrutiny or legal red flags.They weren’t in the dark about the law. An arms embargo on South Sudan has been in place for years, and both men were fully aware that exporting military equipment without proper U.S. licenses carries hefty criminal penalties. The fact that they pressed on regardless underscores how high the stakes were for all involved.John A. Eisenberg, serving as Assistant Attorney General for National Security, announced after the sentencing that from a quiet suburb outside Washington, Ajak had hatched plans to supply weapons for a violent coup. U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine echoed that sentiment, praising the multi-agency effort that thwarted the operation before any harm was done or American interests put at risk. According to officials, this investigation protected not only local communities but possibly American troops in the region, had the weapons ever found their way to a conflict zone where U.S. forces operate.But this isn’t a story that ends with courtroom justice. South Sudan itself remains in freefall. More than a decade after its hard-won independence, the country is still battered by relentless conflict and failed peace agreements. The Secretary-General of the United Nations only days ago outlined harrowing statistics: nearly ten million people, close to the entire population of the small nation, are in need of aid, and violent attacks against humanitarian workers have escalated. Recent months have seen hundreds of thousands—370,000 by last count—forced to flee their homes, most recently in embattled Jonglei State.Stories coming out of the country are grim. Aid convoys targeted in ambushes. A hospital once run by Médecins Sans Frontières reportedly riddled with gunfire. A health facility supported by Save the Children burned to its foundations. Even vehicles marked for medical use, and their supplies, have not been spared. The message from the UN has been clear and urgent: the targeting of humanitarian operations must, in their words, “stop immediately.”If the international response often seems reactive, there are mounting reasons for vigilance. The U.S. and UN have both highlighted broader security threats: weapons and fighters slipping unobstructed into fragile African states, extremist groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda gaining traction, and an uptick in technologies—drones, cryptocurrency—being used to mask illicit dealings. American advisers and troops have been dispatched to assist African partners, and Ambassador Mike Waltz has urged for greater coordination to stem the flow of arms and fighters.Agents involved with the South Sudan case were keenly aware of the potential consequences. John Helsing of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service noted that by halting the shipment, they’d also prevented advanced U.S. weapons from ever being turned against U.S. personnel on future African battlefields—a sobering consideration.Even with these arrests, the underlying troubles persist. South Sudanese civilians live with no certainty that help will arrive or that tomorrow will be safer than today. Hospitals may close their doors in fear. Farmers abandon fields. Homes become ruins. And as more weapons slip through the shadows of the global arms trade, the question remains: what steps will the international community take—not just to react after the fact, but to keep such plans from ever reaching the point of no return?The latest trial has wrapped, but for the people on the ground and those striving to aid them, every day brings new urgency. The cycle of violence and arms smuggling is unbroken, and the effort to enforce peace—as always—lies tangled in the hands of those both near and far from the world’s forgotten frontlines.