Pope criticizes colonization of Africa's minerals as he arrives in Equatorial Guinea

MALABO, Equatorial Guinea (AP) — Pope Leo XIV arrived in Equatorial Guinea on Tuesday on the fourth and final leg of his Africa journey, and denounced the “colonization” of Africa's minerals and the “lust for power” in a country whose repressive leader has been in office since 1979.

Adoring crowds in the largely Catholic country lined the road from the airport into the administrative capital, Malabo, cheering the first pope to visit since St. John Paul II in 1982. Wearing his formal red mozzetta cape, Leo thrilled the flag-waving masses by arriving at the presidential palace in his open-sided popemobile.

“There is a lot of joy today because we waited 44 years for the pope to come,” said Diosdado Marques, a senior Catholic official in the country. “It’s a blessing for the country. We hope many things will change and we will deepen our faith.”

The former Spanish colony on Africa’s western coast is run by the continent's longest-serving president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has been accused of widespread corruption and authoritarianism.

The discovery of offshore oil in the mid-1990s transformed Equatorial Guinea’s economy virtually overnight, with oil now accounting for almost half of its GDP and more than 90% of exports, according to the African Development Bank.

Yet more than half of the country’s nearly 2 million people live in poverty. And rights groups including Human Rights Watch — as well as court cases in France and Spain — have documented how revenues have enriched the ruling Obiang family rather than the broader population.

Leo, who arrived from Angola, met with Obiang at the presidential palace and then addressed government authorities, diplomats and civil service representatives. Noting that the encounter occurred on the first anniversary of Pope Francis’ death, Leo quoted the late pope in denouncing income inequalities that he said had been exacerbated by a global economy focused on the pursuit of profit at all cost.

“Such an economy kills,” Leo said. “In fact, it is even more evident today than in years past that the proliferation of armed conflicts is often driven by the colonization of oil and mineral deposits, occurring with no regard for international law or the self-determination of peoples.”

The Trump administration, which has announced plans to create a minerals trading bloc with its allies, has been racing to get access to Africa’s regions rich in critical minerals and to beat competition from China in a region where Beijing has long dominated.

Last year, as the administration emerged as a key broker for a peace deal to end the fighting in Congo’s mineral-rich but conflict-battered eastern region, it was also signing a partnership with Congo that would allow American companies access to those conflict minerals.

The U.S. is also investing funds in the Lobito Corridor, a major rail project that would facilitate export of minerals from regions in Zambia and Congo through Lobito in Angola. At the same time, the U.S. has backed a South Africa project aimed at extracting rare earth minerals from industrial waste.

The pope's meetings took place in the old presidential palace. The government has built a new capital on the mainland named Ciudad de la Paz, or City of Peace, but the transfer of government buildings is not complete.

Authorities have said the decision to build the new capital was strategic, given the potential for expansion of the city carved out of a tropical forest. But critics said the relocation would exacerbate inequalities and give further opportunities for the presidential circle to enrich themselves.

Leo referred to the new capital by citing the famous work of St. Augustine, “City of God,” in which the 5th-century philosopher interpreted humanity through two models: The “earthly city” where people live temporarily and the eternal “city of God,” characterized by God’s unconditional love and love of one another, especially the poor.

Leo didn't call out the corruption associated with the Obiang family or the criticism of the new capital. But he suggested Equatorial Guinea should look to the “City of God” as a model.

“The earthly city is centered upon the proud love of self, on the lust for power and worldly glory that leads to destruction,” he said. “It is essential to discern the difference between that which lasts and that which passes, remaining free from the pursuit of unjust wealth and the illusion of dominion.”

Equatorial Guinea is officially a secular country but about 75% of its population is Catholic, making it one of Africa's most Catholic countries.

Church leaders “are very much interconnected intrinsically with the government,” said Tutu Alicante, a U.S.-based activist who runs the EG Justice rights group. “Part of it is the fear the government has instilled in everyone, including the church, and part of it is the monetary gains that the church derives from this government.”

The Rev. Fortunatus Nwachukwu, No. 2 in the Vatican’s missionary evangelization office, said the Catholic Church is present in difficult civil spaces and knows how to operate in them to carry out its mission.

“Should the church go to war against the government? Surely no,” Nwachukwu said. “Should the church swallow everything as if it were normal? No. The church has to continue preaching justice, always in defense of life, human dignity and the common good.”

In addition to official corruption, the country’s government also faces accusations of harassment, arrest and intimidation of political opponents, critics and journalists.

Equatorial Guinea is also one of several African nations that have been paid millions of dollars in deals with the Trump administration to receive migrants deported from the U.S. to countries other than their own.

AP reporting shows that at least 29 such migrants with no ties to the country have been deported there. Some remain in detention in Malabo with restrictions on legal and medical support, while others have been forcibly returned to their countries where they face persecution.

Leo, who will visit a prison in the port city of Bata on Wednesday, has criticized the Trump administration’s overall migration deportation policy as “extremely disrespectful.”

Associated Press writers Monika Pronczuk in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, and Ope Adetayo in Lagos, Nigeria, contributed.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Pope Leo XIV, flanked by Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, right, is welcomed by Archbishop Juan Nsue Edjang Mayé, left, and Juan Domingo-Beka Esono Ayang upon his arrival at Malabo International Airport in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Pope Leo XIV arrives at Malabo International Airport in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, on the ninth day of his 11-day pastoral visit to Africa. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV meets with representatives of the world of culture at the Leon XIV Campus of the National University in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, on the ninth day of his 11-day pastoral visit to Africa. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV is welcomed by Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, second left, upon his arrival at Malabo International Airport in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, on the ninth day of his 11-day pastoral visit to Africa. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

People wait for Pope Leo XIV in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, on the ninth day of his 11-day pastoral visit to Africa. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV, flanked by Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, right, is welcomed by Archbishop Juan Nsue Edjang Mayé, left, and Juan Domingo-Beka Esono Ayang upon his arrival at Malabo International Airport in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Pope Leo XIV, center, flanked by Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, left, President's wife Constancia Mangue, meets with the authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps - epresentatives of the world of culture in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, on the ninth day of his 11-day pastoral visit to Africa. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV delivers his speech as he meets with the authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, on the ninth day of his 11-day pastoral visit to Africa. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV is welcomed by Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, fifth from right, and his wife, second from right, Constancia Mangue de Obiang, upon his arrival at Malabo International Airport in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, on the ninth day of his 11-day pastoral visit to Africa. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

People wait for Pope Leo XIV in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, on the ninth day of his 11-day pastoral visit to Africa. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

A billboard featuring Pope Leo XIV is seen ahead of his visit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Friday, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Soldiers march carrying the Vatican flag, right, and Angolan flag prior to Pope Leo XIV's departure for Equatorial Guinea, at the airport in Luanda, Angola, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Faithful wait for the arrival of Pope Leo XIV at the airport in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Faithful wait for the arrival of Pope Leo XIV at the airport in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Pope Leo XIV arrives at the Parish of Our Lady of Fatima in Luanda, Angola, for a meeting with bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and pastoral workers Monday, April 20, 2026, on the eighth day of an 11-day apostolic journey to Africa (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV arrives at the Parish of Our Lady of Fatima in Luanda, Angola, for a meeting with bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and pastoral workers Monday, April 20, 2026, on the eighth day of an 11-day apostolic journey to Africa (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

People touch a banner bearing an image of Pope Leo XIV in Luanda, Angola, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Pope Leo XIV listens to a girl as he arrives at the Parish of Our Lady of Fatima in Luanda, Angola, for a meeting with bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and pastoral workers Monday, April 20, 2026, on the eighth day of an 11-day apostolic journey to Africa (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

WILLEMSTAD, Curaçao (AP) — Dutch veteran Dick Advocaat is coming back to take Curaçao to the World Cup and set a record as the oldest-ever coach in the tournament’s 96-year history.

The 78-year-old Advocaat’s return three months after he resigned citing a family health issue was confirmed Tuesday by the Curaçao soccer federation, one day after Fred Rutten left the job.

“Discussions between (the federation) and Dick Advocaat regarding the further details of this appointment are currently ongoing,” it said, with “the aim of ensuring stability, clarity, and continuity around the national team.” When Curaçao makes its World Cup debut against Germany on June 14 in Houston, Advocaat will be seven years older than Otto Rehhagel was at 71 coaching Greece at the 2010 World Cup.

It will also be Advocaat’s third World Cup with a third different team: His native Netherlands in 1994 and South Korea in 2006.

Curaçao also plays Ecuador in Kansas City and Ivory Coast in Philadelphia at the first 48-team World Cup being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. The expanded format gave three extra guaranteed entries to the CONCACAF region.

Advocaat led the tiny Caribbean island team through qualifying then was replaced in February by his compatriot Rutten.

Rutten oversaw two losses in warmup games in March, against Australia and China, and was reportedly unpopular with players who wanted Advocaat back.

Curaçao is an autonomous territory of about 156,000 people in the Caribbean within the Netherlands kingdom. The team relies almost entirely on players born and raised in the Netherlands.

AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

FILE - Curacao head coach Dick Advocaat watches from the sideline during the first half of a CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer match against El Salvador, on June 17, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vasquez, File)