Former Gambian Soldier Sentenced 67 Years US Torture Case

Michael Sang Correa, a former Gambian soldier and member of the feared death squad known as the Junglers, was sentenced to over 67 years in prison in Colorado for torturing opponents of the former Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh following a failed coup attempt in 2006. Correa was convicted on charges including conspiracy to commit torture and multiple counts of torture, with survivors testifying about brutal methods such as beatings, burning with molten plastic, electrocution, and suffocation. The Junglers reported directly to Jammeh, who ruled Gambia with an iron fist for over two decades. Correa immigrated to the U.S. in 2016, initially working as a bodyguard, but was arrested in 2019 after overstaying his visa and later prosecuted under a rarely used U.S. law allowing trials for torture committed abroad. This case marks the first conviction of a non-U.S. citizen for torture in a U.S. federal court and follows similar prosecutions of Jammeh’s associates in Europe. U.S. officials emphasized that the sentence sends a strong message that human rights violators cannot find safe haven in the United States.