When the Democratic Republic of Congo gained independence from Belgium on June 30, 1960, it was part of a wave of optimism sweeping through Africa. Its new prime minister, the 35-year old Patrice Lumumba, was one of the faces of that optimism. But just two-and-a-half months later he had been removed from office by military officers and was killed by a firing squad in January 1961. But what happened with the CIA?

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