Wagner’s New Business Model
Nicholas Bariyo reports in his latest WSJ piece, “Wagner’s Remnants Are Running an Opioid Empire in the Center of Africa,” that Wagner’s leftover fighters, now numbering around 500 and based along the Oubangui River in the Central African Republic, have built a fresh power base on tramadol trafficking. According to the report, they’re using the opioid to fund gold and timber operations. And Moscow doesn’t have the bandwidth to control it.
The mechanics
Cheap, high-dose tramadol tablets originate in India, get shipped to firms in Congo, then cross the river into Bangui, where Wagner-linked networks control distribution, charging smugglers steep bribes to move product onward to Cameroon and other markets.
Who’s running it
Prigozhin’s son Pavel now leads the remnant force, which has embedded itself in the national army, presidential guard, and youth militias like the Sharks, giving it reach well beyond a typical criminal enterprise.
The human cost
The drug is doubling as battlefield fuel. Fighters take massive doses to numb fear before combat. Researchers tie the trend to a roughly 20% rise in conflict deaths over the past year, including a 130-person massacre of Fulani herders.
The bigger picture
With Moscow reluctant to confront the group directly, the Central African Republic has become Wagner’s last true African stronghold. Analysts worry it’s now exporting expertise and alliances into Sudan’s civil war, raising the stakes for a region already short on outside attention.
The Central African Republic’s relative isolation and lack of strategic importance have kept Wagner and the worsening violence largely off the international radar, allowing them a freer hand to operate, according to Cameron Hudson, a former State Department official.
