In the wee hours of 2026, while our eyes were focused on Venezuela and the consequences of the American actions in the country, another event, just as earth-shattering was taking place on the African continent. There was another coup attempt on President Ibrahim Traoré in Burkina Faso which did not succeed. The government of Burkina Faso has announced that it has thwarted yet another plot aimed at killing the country’s leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, and disable a drone base. Burkinabes have taken to the streets in support of Traoré.

On January 6, Burkina Faso’s Minister of Security, Mahamadou Sana, disclosed that the planned coup, which was expected to be carried out late on January 3, was neutralized “thanks to the professionalism of the intelligence services.” The operation were to “[begin] with the neutralization of Comrade Captain Ibrahim Traoré, Head of State and President of Faso, either at point-blank range or through an operation to mine his residence,” … “there were to be efforts to put the drone base out of service, and a ground military intervention by external forces.” “Our intelligence services intercepted this operation in the final hours. They had planned to assassinate the head of state and then strike other key institutions, including civilian personalities,” Sana stated.

From what we have learned, the operation was financially supported from neighboring Côte d’Ivoire. The sophisticated plan had been hatched by Lt Col Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba, the military officer and former transition president ousted by Traoré in September 2022, the security minister said in a late-night broadcast.

The western media say that Ibrahim Traoré and his government are lying, or fabricating this story to gain popularity; they talk of “alleged coup”, using verbs like “claim”, or like BBC wrote, “Plot to kill Burkina Faso leader foiled, says junta [why are they still calling it a junta after 4 years? When Damiba was there, they never called it such].” This would not be the first time that the government of Côte d’Ivoire would have hands in the destabilization of Burkina Faso. It was through the Côte d’Ivoire channel and government, with help from Liberia, that our brother Thomas Sankara was taken out by France. Now, it would seem to be coming from Damiba, via Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, for the interests of France; as we know Damiba is the front-man for the foreign forces who want to destabilize the country. The goal being to decapitate Burkina Faso, and therefore the AES alliance which includes Niger and Mali.

For more, check out: Newsclick, BBC, AfricaNews, and countless others.