NARCO ANALYSIS: A Political Crisis in Mauritania

By Geoff D. Porter

One year into his first five-year term, President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani is facing a political crisis of his own making. In an effort to distinguish his administration from that of his predecessor, Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz, Ghazouani sanctioned the formation of a parliamentary committee to investigate Mauritania’s financial stewardship during Abdelaziz’s tenure. Everyone in Nouakchott and beyond knows that Abdelaziz was corrupt. And many Mauritanians – perhaps even most Mauritanians – want Abdelaziz to pay for what he stole...