What is the dark truth about Blackwater?

In 2007, Blackwater received widespread notoriety for the Nisour Square massacre in Baghdad, when a group of its employees killed 17 Iraqi civilians and injured 20. Four employees were convicted in the United States but later pardoned on December 22, 2020, by President Donald Trump.

What is the story behind Blackwater?

Blackwater USA began in 1997 by Al Clark and Erik Prince. They started out as a private security firm providing training support to law enforcement, the justice department, and military organizations and received their first contract from the United States government in 2000 after the bombing of the USS Cole.

What happened in the Blackwater incident?

In 2014, four Blackwater employees were tried and convicted in U.S. federal court; one of murder, and the other three of manslaughter and firearms charges; all four convicted were controversially pardoned by President Donald Trump in December 2020, in violation of international law.

How much do Blackwater mercenaries get paid?

Average Blackwater Security hourly pay ranges from approximately $15.75 per hour for Security Officer to $17.49 per hour for Patrol Officer.

What was Blackwater doing in Iraq?

Donald Trump has pardoned four security guards from the private military firm Blackwater who were serving jail sentences for killing 14 civilians including two children in Baghdad in 2007, a massacre that sparked an international outcry over the use of mercenaries in war.

Blackwater Contractors Driving Over Iraqi Woman

Why is Blackwater a problem?

Severe (hypoxic) blackwater events decrease water quality. When too much oxygen is removed from the water, fish and other organisms struggle to breathe and may suffocate and die. Large fish like the Murray cod need more oxygen, so they tend to die first. Blackwater events also affect communities that use the river.

How many Blackwater contractors died?

The ambush

The four armed contractors, Scott Helvenston, Jerry Zovko, Wesley Batalona, and Mike Teague, were killed and dragged from their vehicles. Their bodies were beaten and burned, with their charred corpses then dragged through the city streets before being hanged over a bridge crossing the Euphrates River.

Is being a mercenary a crime?

Under current laws and regulations, it is not illegal for a U.S. citizen to provide combat services as a foreign mercenary fighter. The closest legal prohibition to U.S. mercenaries might be found in the Neutrality Act (18 U.S.C. §960).

Is it against the law to be a mercenary?

The use and recruitment of mercenaries are legally forbidden by the 1989 International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries. A mercenary is defined as any person who is specially recruited locally or abroad in order to fight in an armed conflict.

Who currently owns Blackwater?

It was renamed Xe Services in 2009, and was again renamed Academi in 2011 after it was acquired by a group of private investors. In 2014, Academi merged with Triple Canopy, a subsidiary of Constellis Group. Later, Academi was fully integrated into the parent company, and now operates under the name Constellis.

What did Dutch do to the girl in Blackwater?

Heidi McCort was a young woman who was shot and killed by outlaw Dutch van der Linde during the Blackwater Massacre. She has been described as an innocent civilian who happened to be present on the ferry at Blackwater during the heist that was carried out by the Van der Linde gang.

Why are you wanted in Blackwater rdr2?

Lawmen in the area will be searching for you and will shoot on sight. This is why at the start of the game it's active around Blackwater - because of a robbery gone wrong - and will trigger in other places based on the outcome of some quests.

Do we ever get to see what happened in Blackwater?

Because Arthur was not present for Blackwater, players never get to experience what actually happened directly before the events of Red Dead Redemption 2. While the results of the mission included three members of the gang dead, as well as the beginning of Dutch's spiral, it did allow for something positive.

What did Dutch and Micah do to the girl in Blackwater?

Heidi McCourt was a young woman who was murdered some time during the Blackwater Massacre by Dutch van der Linde via a gunshot to the head. She has been described as an innocent, defenceless civilian who happened to be present on the ferry at Blackwater during the heist that was carried out by the Van der Linde gang.

What really happened in Blackwater rdr2?

John Marston, Mac Callander, Davey Callander and Jenny Kirk were all shot, the latter two fatally. Sean MacGuire was knocked out in unknown circumstances and later taken captive by Ike Skelding's bounty hunters. With the situation becoming dire, the outlaws decided that they would have to flee.

Where is Blackwater located in real life?

Blackwater is a city in northwest Cooper County, Missouri, United States located along the Blackwater River, from which it takes its name.

Can a mercenary be executed?

If, after a regular trial, a captured soldier is found to be a mercenary, then he can expect treatment as a common criminal and may face execution. As mercenary soldiers may not qualify as PoWs, they cannot expect repatriation at war's end.

What happens to mercenaries when captured?

If arrested, mercenaries are not entitled to the status of prisoners of war, but the detaining power can decide to treat them according to this status. They must always be treated humanely according to the fundamental guarantees of humanitarian law, as defined by Article 75 of API.

Are mercenaries rich?

How much does a Mercenary make in USA? The average mercenary salary in the USA is $75,000 per year or $36.06 per hour. Entry level positions start at $50,000 per year while most experienced workers make up to $100,000 per year.

Does the US use mercenaries?

Many countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, are not signatories to the 1989 United Nations Mercenary Convention banning the use of mercenaries.

What is the largest mercenary company?

Currently Blackwater (Xe Services LLC, Academi) is the largest organization of its kind in the world. The company has a headquarters located in North Carolina.

Do mercenaries still exist?

But, that old-world definition of a mercenary — those who will wage war on behalf of someone else in the name of profit — is still unfortunately relevant. These mercenaries are known as private military contractors (PMCs) today.

Were the Blackwater Guards sentenced?

The four Blackwater guards were convicted in 2014 for their roles in the massacre. Three were convicted of manslaughter and firearms offenses; a fourth of first-degree murder.

How many soldiers did Blackwater have?

According to a book written on Blackwater in 2007, the facility had by then produced an army of 20,000 troops, 20 aircraft, a fleet of armored vehicles and trained war dogs. Most of those resources were shipped to Iraq and Afghanistan on U.S. government contracts.

Why did Blackwater changed its name?

In February 2009, private-security firm Blackwater announced that it would be changing its name to Xe (pronounced Zee) in an attempt to escape the dark cloud it had been under since five of its guards were indicted on charges related to a 2007 shooting that left 17 unarmed Iraqi civilians dead.