Patrice Lumumba, assassinated with American help 56 years ago today

Under orders from outgoing President Eisenhower, the United States helped Belgium and the forces of Mobutu in the assassination of Congolese prime minister and anti-colonial leader Patrice Lumumba on this day in 1961. It is but one of many shameful crimes committed by the United States during the Cold War. American assistance in this murderous coup was entirely at odds with our own avowed principles.