WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States Department of the Treasury announced a new wave of sanctions on Tuesday, June 2, targeting high-ranking members of rival armed factions operating in the volatile eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The designations target Gustave Kubwayo, a senior commander in the Rwandan-sanctioned FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda), The move comes as Washington attempts to maintain pressure on militia leaders driving decades of instability, ethnic violence, and displacement in the African Great Lakes Region.
The Rise of “Col. Sirkoof”
The Treasury’s announcement heavily spotlights the extensive illicit operations of Gustave Kubwayo, widely known by his nom de guerre, “Colonel Sirkoof.”
Kubwayo is a central figure in the FDLR, a UN- and EU-sanctioned terrorist organization originally founded by remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. According to regional security analysts, Kubwayo oversees the Commando de Recherche et d’Action en Profondeur (CRAP)—the FDLR’s specialized intelligence and deep-operations unit, which also operates under the moniker “the Maccabe group.”
According to a 2024 report by the UN Group of Experts on the DR Congo, Kubwayo ascended to the helm of this notorious unit following the death of his predecessor, “Col.” Protogene Ruvugayimikore, who was killed in combat against M23 forces in early 2023. Under Kubwayo’s command, the unit is deputized by Guillaume Ngabo, an operative who frequently goes by the alias “Bagdad.”
The Treasury explicitly noted Kubwayo’s strategic maneuvers in recent years. “In addition to this unit, Kubwayo led an FDLR operational command structure in North Kivu’s Nyiragongo territory that formed in 2022, after M23 attacks forced FDLR to geographically disperse,” the Department stated.
A Legacy of Extremism
The FDLR remains a heavily destabilizing force in eastern Congo and the primary driver of organized ethnic violence and hate speech directed at Congolese Tutsi communities.
The militia’s history with the U.S. government is notably dark. The group adopted the FDLR acronym in the early 2000s to rebrand itself from its precursor, the Armée de libération du Rwanda (ALiR). ALiR had previously been designated as a terrorist organization by Washington after its militants brutally murdered several U.S. citizens in a targeted attack in Uganda.
Today, the geopolitical landscape in eastern DRC has created a complex web of alliances. Despite the FDLR’s genocidal roots, the militia currently fights alongside the Congolese national army (FARDC) in a controversial coalition aimed at repelling the M23 rebels. Rwandan President Paul Kagame has routinely identified the FDLR as the root cause of his nation’s friction with the DRC, pointing to the group as a persistent cross-border security threat.
Stalled Diplomatic Pledges
The new U.S. sanctions arrive at a time of deep diplomatic frustration. For over three decades, international and regional efforts to disarm the FDLR have repeatedly collapsed.
In December 2025, a glimmer of hope emerged when officials from Rwanda and the DRC signed an agreement in Washington, D.C., establishing a framework to neutralize the FDLR once and for all. However, implementation has completely stalled. Rwandan officials maintain that Kinshasa lacks the political will to sever ties with the militia, actively integrating FDLR fighters into the government’s military coalition instead of dismantling the group as promised.
As Washington leverages financial and travel sanctions to isolate commander Kubwayo , the effectiveness of these measures remains to be seen on the ground, where heavily armed factions continue to dictate the reality in North Kivu.
