Guinea-Bissau's Never-Ending Power Struggles

Latest Coup in 2025

November 2025: Army officers seize control from President Umaro Sissoco Embalo just before election results were to be announced.

A History of Instability

1980: The First Major Coup

• Prime Minister Joao Bernardo Vieira takes control from President Luis Cabral.

1999: Civil War and Change

• General Ansumane Mane forces Vieira to step down after a year-long civil war.
• Mane becomes leader but is killed in clashes with the next president, Kumba Yala.

2003: Another Shift in Power

• Yala is removed from power.
• General Verissimo Correia Seabra takes control but is killed in an army revolt a year later.
• Henrique Rosa becomes interim leader.

2009: Assassination and Transition

• Vieira is assassinated after surviving many coup attempts.
• Raimundo Pereira takes over as interim leader.
• Malam Bacai Sanha is elected president but dies before finishing his term.

2012: Election Interruption

• Soldiers take control during a presidential election.
• They detain the interim president and other candidates.

2022: Presidential Palace Attack

• Gunmen attack the presidential palace.
• President Embalo survives, but the country remains unstable.

2023: Dissolution of Parliament

• Embalo dissolves parliament.
• Critics say he uses instability to gain more control.

Conclusion

The latest coup in 2025 shows that Guinea-Bissau's power struggles are far from over.