Opening statements are set for Tuesday in the landmark U.S. federal trial of Michael Sang Correa, a former member of Gambia’s feared paramilitary unit, the “Junglers,” who is accused of torturing political opponents of ex-dictator Yahya Jammeh nearly two decades ago. Correa, indicted in 2020 under the rarely used U.S. federal extraterritorial torture statute, is charged with conspiracy to commit torture and related offenses. The law allows prosecution within the United States for acts of torture committed abroad, regardless of the defendant’s nationality. Correa, a Gambian national, had been living in Denver as a day laborer after overstaying a visa he received in 2016 while accompanying Jammeh as a bodyguard during a visit to the U.S.
Federal prosecutors allege Correa was part of a military crackdown following a failed coup attempt in 2006 and personally participated in brutal interrogations at the National Intelligence Agency headquarters in Banjul. Victims were allegedly beaten with pipes and wires, suffocated with plastic bags, and subjected to electric shocks — including to their genitals. The acts were allegedly carried out under Jammeh’s direct orders.
Correa’s defense team is expected to argue that he acted under duress, citing evidence that disobedience within the Junglers often led to execution. Court filings show that both sides acknowledge that refusal to carry out orders from Jammeh could have been fatal. This is the third-ever use of the extraterritorial torture law in the U.S. The two prior convictions were of U.S. citizens: Chuckie Taylor Jr., son of Liberian warlord Charles Taylor, was sentenced in 2009 for torture committed in Liberia; and Ross Roggio, convicted in 2023, tortured an employee at a weapons factory in Iraq.
Internationally, accountability for Jammeh’s 22-year rule continues. In 2023, a Swiss court sentenced Jammeh’s former Interior Minister to 20 years for crimes against humanity. That same year, a German court convicted another Junglers member for participating in extrajudicial killings of government critics. Jammeh, accused of widespread human rights abuses, was ousted in 2017 after losing an election and now lives in exile in Equatorial Guinea. The Correa case is being closely watched by human rights advocates as a test of international accountability and the reach of U.S. justice in addressing crimes committed abroad.
