Zimbabwe’s Political Elite Profited From Gems, WikiLeaks Says
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Members of Zimbabwe’s political elite ranging from President Robert Mugabe’s wife to military leaders allegedly profited from illegal trading of diamonds, according to a U.S. diplomatic cable published by WikiLeaks.
The November 2008 cable is one of 250,000 State Department documents obtained and posted online by WikiLeaks, an organization that publishes confidential documents on its website. The cable provides details of information gleaned by U.S. diplomats from industry and government officials who say that Mugabe’s allies profit from gem smuggling from the Chiadzwa diamond field. Zimbabwean officials denied the allegations.