Summary of the November 2025 Coup in Guinea-Bissau

Date of Event: 26 November 2025

Key Action: Military officers, led by General Denis N'Canha, declared "total control" of the country, arresting key political figures.

Governing Body: The military established the "High Military Command for the Restoration of Order."

Background and Justification

The coup is the latest event in a long history of political instability in Guinea-Bissau. The military justified its actions as a response to a contested electoral process and a plot involving a prominent drug trafficker.

Political Context: The credibility of the 2025 presidential election was severely undermined by the postponement of the original election date and the exclusion of the main opposition party, the PAIGC, by the Supreme Court.

The "Drug Baron" Accusation: In their statement, the military accused politicians of conspiring with a "well-known drug baron" to manipulate the election results. However, no specific name was publicly provided by the military junta.

Reported Drug Trafficking Figure

While the individual referenced in the 2025 coup statement remains officially unnamed, reports from organizations like the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime have identified Danilson Fernandes Gomes Ié (known as "Nick") as being widely considered one of Guinea-Bissau's most prominent cocaine traffickers as of August 2025.