“We have interfered in the US elections.”

First modification: 07/11/2022 – 22:55

This Monday, November 7, the Russian businessman close to the Kremlin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said that he interfered in the last elections in the United States and that he plans to continue doing so. The affirmation happens on the eve of the mid-term elections that will be held on Tuesday on North American soil.

“We have interfered in the elections, we are interfering and we will continue to interfere. With care, surgical precision and in our own way, as we know how to do,” he stated on VKontakte, the Russian equivalent of Facebook.

The Russian official is being looked at sideways for operating with “troll farms” from Russia to influence the course of the US elections. A strong accusation arose around the 2016 vote, where Donald Trump ended up winning the Oval Office seat.

Prigozhin is known as “Putin’s chef” for his closeness to the Russian president and for the close ties that exist thanks to his catering company and the contracts set up with the Kremlin.

From the White House they responded quickly to the Russian’s comments and downplayed his actions. Spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said they were “not surprised” by Prigozhin’s remarks, adding that the businessman tries to influence all elections in the world, including the American ones.

In addition, he ruled out that electoral security is in danger ahead of Tuesday’s vote, since there are no “specific and credible threats” so far.

The Russian tycoon’s attempts are nothing new for Washington. In July, the State Department issued a reward of up to 10 million dollars for anyone with information on the intelligence movements of Prigozhin, one of the citizens who was affected by the sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom. .

Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group

The profile of the businessman has risen considerably in recent months since he raised the flag of being the founder of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, a squad of mercenaries that has a presence in conflicts around the world, from the war in Ukraine to the revolts in Mali. and Syria, among other countries.

For a time, he made complaints to communicators that linked him to the mercenary firm. However, at present, Prigozhin himself is in charge of showing off and publicly highlighting his role in the group.

His military projection has also increased recently and he began to openly comment on the “special operation” that Russia set up in Eastern Europe, being critical of the performance of high-ranking commanders in Ukrainian territory.

Wagner’s paramilitaries are gaining more and more ground in Africa, where countries with deep political conflicts and instability due to insecurity caused by jihadist attacks, such as Mali, have chosen to request his collaboration over that of the French military, a historically influential country. in the Sahel.

Another recent case has been that of Burkina Faso, which went through a coup d’état weeks ago and its population expressed itself in the streets with Russian flags demanding the entry of mercenary troops and urging the expulsion of the French.

However, the transitional military government ruled out that possibility, to the reassurance of the United States, from where they monitor with concern the extension of Russian cells on the African continent.

However, Wagner’s effectiveness in the Sahel is still in doubt. During his stay in Mali, the violence due to jihadist attacks increased and complaints of violation of the rights of the United Nations mission in the country were raised.

With Reuters and EFE