Congo commutes 3 Americans’ death sentences following coup attempt

Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in English with headings Congo’s president commuted the death sentences of three Americans who were convicted on charges of participating in a coup attempt last year, officials announced Wednesday. Marcel Malanga, 21, Tyler Thompson Jr., 21, and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 36, had their sentences switched to life imprisonment following an order by Felix Tshisekedi, the Associated Press reported, citing a presidential spokesperson. The pardon comes as Congolese authorities are trying to reach a minerals deal with the U.S. in exchange for security support that will help the country fight rebels in its conflict-hit eastern region.  The State Department did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce wrote on X yesterday that Senior Advisor for Africa Massad Boulos is “is getting right to work promoting U.S. interests, starting with a trip to the region this week with stops in [the] Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda.” FLASHBACK: 3 AMERICANS IN CONGO SENTENCED TO DEATH AFTER COUP ATTEMPT  Six people were killed during last May’s botched coup attempt, led by opposition figure Christian Malanga, that targeted the presidential palace in Kinshasa as well as a close ally of Tshisekedi. Malanga was fatally shot while resisting arrest soon after live-streaming the attack on his social media, the Congolese army said. Marcel Malanga, who is a U.S. citizen, told a court during the case that his father had forced him and Thompson Jr., his high school friend, to take part in the attack, according to The Associated Press.  “Dad had threatened to kill us if we did not follow his orders,” Marcel Malanga reportedly said. AFRICAN WAR-TORN NATION INVOKES TRUMP ‘GOLDEN AGE’ FOR MINERALS DEAL IN EXCHANGE FOR BOOTING VIOLENT REBELS  Thompson Jr. flew to Africa from Utah with the younger Malanga for what his family believed was a free vacation, and Zalman-Polun is reported to have known Christian Malanga through a gold mining company. “We have seen that a military court in the Democratic Republic of Congo sentenced a number of defendants, including U.S. citizens, to death for alleged involvement in the May 19th attacks against the government,” former State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at the time of the Americans’ sentencing.   “We understand that the legal process in the DRC allows for defendants to appeal the court’s decision. Embassy staff have been attending these proceedings … We’ll continue to attend the proceedings and follow the developments closely,” he added. The Associated Press contributed to this report.