US-DRC SPA Intelligence Brief | June 26, 2026
On June 25, the US Treasury sanctioned a Rwandan gold network for moving Congolese gold out of M23-held territory. It is the fourth sanctions action since the Washington Accords, and the first to target commercial refining infrastructure rather than commanders or principals. The same week in London, the DRC and Rwanda committed to de-escalate around Minembwe and support deployment of the joint verification mission, four weeks before Rubio's mid-July deadline for Rwandan withdrawal. Underneath: China consolidated critical-mineral positions on three fronts, a worker-equity deadline arrives July 31 with no company compliant, and the SPA still has no confirmed promulgation, so the Article XII clock has not verifiably started.
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