Denver, CO — In a landmark human rights case, a federal jury in Colorado has convicted Michael Sang Correa, a Gambian national and former member of the feared paramilitary unit known as the “Junglers”, on multiple torture charges for his role in the brutal abuse of political detainees in The Gambia in 2006.
This is the first conviction of a non-U.S. citizen on torture charges in a federal district court, marking a major victory for U.S. efforts to hold foreign human rights violators accountable under domestic law.
Correa, 46, was found guilty of conspiring to commit torture and personally participating in the torture of five victims who were accused of involvement in a failed coup against then-Gambian President Yahya Jammeh. The horrific acts took place at Mile 2 Prison, a notorious detention facility in the West African nation.
“We Found Him, We Prosecuted Him”
“Michael Sang Correa tried to evade responsibility for his crimes in The Gambia by coming to the United States and hiding his past,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “But we found him, we investigated him, and we prosecuted him.”
“The lesson is: if you commit violent crimes—let alone torture or other human rights violations—do not come to the United States,” Galeotti added.
Acting U.S. Attorney J. Bishop Grewell for the District of Colorado called Correa’s crimes “abhorrent,” and praised the courage of victims who traveled to the U.S. to testify. ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Steve Cagen stated, “Correa chose the wrong country to try to escape from justice.”
Shocking Testimonies of Brutality
During the trial, survivors gave chilling accounts of the torture they endured at the hands of Correa and his fellow Junglers. The victims were:
- Beaten, stabbed, electrocuted, and burned with hot plastic.
- Suffocated with plastic bags and threatened with loaded firearms.
- Hung upside down, struck with pistols and hammers, and had cigarettes extinguished into their skin.
- One victim was electrocuted on his genitals, while another suffered burns so severe that skin peeled away from his thigh.
The jury heard that these brutal acts took place over several weeks in March and April 2006, and were part of a wider crackdown on suspected coup plotters ordered by then-President Jammeh.
A Fugitive Life in the U.S.
Correa entered the United States on a visa in December 2016, a decade after his crimes. He managed to live undetected until 2019, when he was arrested by ICE and placed in removal proceedings. He was formally charged with torture in 2020.
Now convicted, Correa faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for each of the five torture counts and the conspiracy charge. He will remain in U.S. custody until his sentencing, the date of which will be determined by the court.
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