Salvadoran ex‑military hired as mercenaries in Congo conflict

A UN Security Council expert panel reported that around 300 former Salvadoran police and military personnel have been recruited since July 2025 to fight in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The contractors are engaged through the Salvadoran firm Importaciones de Productos Americanos (IMPROA S.A.), owned by retired officers Colonel Juan Emilio Velasco Alfaro and Lieutenant Rodrigo Antonio Tejada Alvarenga, and receive a monthly salary of $4,225.

The Salvadorans were first assigned to logistical support in Kisangani but have since been deployed to frontline operations in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Tanganyika, including towns such as Walikale, Baraka and Kalemie, fighting alongside the Congolese army against the rebel M23 group. The UN report documents serious shortcomings: delayed or missing pay, illnesses requiring evacuation back to El Salvador, and poorly constructed camps and bunkers.

El Salvador’s government denied prior knowledge or authorization of the recruitment, informing the UN experts that the state had no involvement. The deployment occurs amid a broader scramble for the region’s mineral wealth—coltan, cobalt and gold—that fuels the prolonged conflict.