By Black Star News
Photos: DOJ\YouTube Screenshot
Friday, in Colorado, accused Gambian soldier, and death squad member, Michael Sang Correa, 46, was sentenced to 67 years in prison for his actions in torturing an unknown number of Gambians following a failed coup d’état in 2006.
Correa, who immigrated to Denver in 2016, was a soldier in the Gambian army and was a member of a death squad named the Junglers. Correa served in the army during the 20-year dictatorship of former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh. After a failed coup attempt, in 2006, the Junglers, and Correa, allegedly instituted a campaign of torture against suspected coup plotters. During the tortures, Correa is accused of viciously beating his victims, with numerous types of weapons—and of burning the flesh of some of them. Much of the tortures happened at Gambia’s main prison: the Mile 2 Prison.
The Junglers are said to have reported directly to President Jammeh.
According to the Center for Justice and Accountability “Survivors of this torture testified at Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC) that Correa personally tortured them or was present while other Junglers engaged in torture. In 2006, The Gambia’s National Intelligence Agency’s report on interrogations following the attempted coup also implicated Correa in torture. Former Junglers told the TRRC that Correa not only tortured individuals suspected of planning the coup, but also participated in numerous other extrajudicial killings, including the killing of journalists Dayda Hydara and Chief Ebrima Manneh in 2012, and the murder of Gambian-Americans Alhagie Mamut Ceesay and Ebou Jobe in 2013.”
Correa was arrested, in 2019, for overstaying his visa. Following his arrest, multiple human rights organizations requested that the United States investigate Correa and to seek a prosecution against him for the crimes he allegedly committed in Gambia.
On April 15, 2025 a Colorado jury found Correa guilty of torture and conspiracy to commit torture.
Multiple Colorado officials released statements on the sentencing of Correa.
“Michael Correa has finally been held accountable for the brutal violence he inflicted on others,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division. “The United States will not be a safe haven for individuals who seek to conceal their egregious human rights violations. We are proud to have worked with our law enforcement partners to secure this sentence, and we thank the brave victims whose testimony helped ensure that justice is done.”
“The victims of these crimes carried the weight of unimaginable suffering for years, not knowing whether they would ever see their torturer held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Peter McNeilly for the District of Colorado. “Today’s sentence delivers a measure of justice for them and affirms that the United States stands firmly with those whose human rights have been violated. This prosecution and sentence should serve as a deterrent for criminals who think they might escape accountability by coming to Colorado.”
“Mr. Correa’s crimes were barbaric and uncivilized; they have no place in the modern world,” said Special Agent in Charge Steve Cagen of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Denver. “I hope this sentence can bring some kind of closure for his victims and their families. A standard was set with this trial and sentencing, Homeland Security Investigations will hunt down and bring to justice those that commit these horrific crimes.”
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