Constellis Blackwtr
LEON BLACK EPSTEIN
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am prospect 2026
Rodríguez, the economist, would ultimately publish a great and depressing book, The Collapse of Venezuela: Scorched Earth Politics and Economic Decline: 2012–2020, placing the Citgo dumpster fire in the broader context of the normalization of economic sabotage as a political weapon. Neoliberal economists like to blame the Chavistas for Venezuela’s economic crisis by nationalizing industries, rewarding loyalty over expertise, and choosing to maintain state control over the means of production. But as Rodríguez points out, the data demonstrates unequivocally that it was only after the death of Chávez himself—and with it, the end of the expropriation sprees that had so enraged the Davos crowd—that the organized opposition began the multipronged campaigns of financial and industrial terrorism that pulled Venezuela into an economic black hole with virtually no equivalent in the modern era, dragging its own reputation among Venezuelans into the abyss along with it.
The hard-right opposition and its American backers cheered on deadly attacks on vital Venezuelan infrastructure, like the unprecedented failure at the massive Guri Dam hydroelectric power plant that caused a collective 200 hours of electrical blackouts in nearly every household in Venezuela in March 2019 alone. The Maduro regime never prosecuted anyone over the attacks, but Guaidó’s failed coup plotter Goudreau recently The Grayzone that an intelligence consultancy had “been doing infrastructure attacks or helping to facilitate infrastructure attacks for a decade or so” in the country. He provided the publication with a pitch deck obtained in discovery, which was produced for then-Vice President Mike Pence by a group called “Virtual Democracy.” It outlined a detailed 29-page regime change proposal consisting of sabotage plans including “contamination with hepatitis (A, B and C), influenza, measles and piglet to the social clubs where the top officials of the narco-regime meet” and “forced stoppage of public and private transport in all forms” that would culminate in the replacement of the Bolivaran constitution with a “simple federalist constitutional text that prohibits communism and socialism,” with training to commence on a North Carolina training camp operated by Constellis, formerly known as Blackwater.
That plan never got off the ground, perhaps because it required the Treasury Department to grant the plotters “a Swift clearance passport from the US government to transfer accounts of the US government an approximate amount of US $14,500,000,000 in assets expropriated from the narco-regime and make it available to Virtual Democracy.”
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Constellis, formerly Blackwater, is an American private military contractor founded on December 26, 1997,[2] by former Navy SEAL officer Erik Prince.[3][4] It was renamed Xe Services in 2009, and was again renamed to Academi in 2011, after it was acquired by a group of private investors.[5] In 2014, Academi merged with Triple Canopy to form Constellis Holdings.[6][7][8]
Constellis and its predecessors provide contract security services[9] to the United States federal government. Since 2003, it has provided services to the Central Intelligence Agency.
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 and were later pardoned on December 22, 2020, by President Donald Trump.[10][11]
History
Origins as training center
Blackwater USA was formed on December 26, 1996,[2] by Al Clark[12] and Erik Prince in North Carolina, to provide training support to military and law enforcement organizations. In explaining its purpose, Prince stated: "We are trying to do for the national security apparatus what FedEx did for the Postal Service."[13]
Prince purchased approximately 7,000 acres (28 km2) of the Great Dismal Swamp, a vast swamp on the North Carolina–Virginia border that is now mostly a national wildlife refuge. "We needed 3,000 acres to make it safe," Prince told reporter Robert Young Pelton.[14] There he created his private training facility and his contracting company, Blackwater, which he named for the peat-colored water of the swamp.[15]
The Blackwater Lodge and Training Center officially opened on May 15, 1998, with a 6,000-acre (2,400 ha), $6.5 million facility headed by Robert Anderson.[14] It comprises several ranges: indoor, outdoor, urban reproductions; an artificial lake; and a driving track in Camden and Currituck counties. The company says it is the largest training facility in the country. The concept was not a financial success but was kept solvent by sales from sister company Blackwater Target Systems.[16]
2002–2007: Blackwater Security Company
Jeremy Scahill has claimed that Blackwater Security Company (BSC) was the brainchild of Jamie Smith, a former CIA officer who became vice president of Blackwater USA and the founding director of Blackwater Security Company, holding both positions simultaneously.[17] However, this claim is denied by Prince and Blackwater executive Gary Jackson, who describe firing Smith from his position as a low-level administrator for "non-performance" after a thirty-day contract. Smith has been accused of further embellishing his military and contracting record to defraud investors at SCG International Risk.[18]
2003–2006: First contracts
BSC's first assignment was to provide twenty men with top-secret clearance to protect the CIA headquarters and another base that was responsible for hunting Osama bin Laden.[19] Blackwater was one of several private security firms employed following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. BSC was originally formed as a Delaware LLC and was one of over sixty private security firms employed during the Iraq War to guard officials and installations, train Iraq's new army and police, and provide other support for coalition forces.[20]
Gulmurod Khalimov, former war minister of the Islamic State, trained with Blackwater and the U.S. Army five times between 2003 and 2015. Khalimov was an officer and sniper of the OMON special forces unit of Tajikistan at the time. The United States Department of State confirmed this in 2015. However, Khalimov was quoted as saying in Russian, “Listen, you American pigs: I’ve been to America three times. I saw how you train soldiers to kill Muslims. You taught your soldiers how to surround and attack, in order to exterminate Islam and Muslims”.[21][22][23][24][25]
Blackwater was hired during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to protect government facilities, as well as by private clients, including communications, petrochemical, and insurance companies.[why?][26] Overall, the company received over US$1 billion in U.S. government contracts.[27] The company consisted of nine divisions and a subsidiary, Blackwater Vehicles.
[
](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bremer_leaves_after_Iraqi_Sovereignty_Transfer,_2004_June_28.jpg)Paul Bremer escorted by Blackwater Security guards
In August 2003, Blackwater received its first Iraq contract, a $21 million contract for a personal security detachment and two helicopters for Paul Bremer, head of the U.S. occupation in Iraq.[28]
In July 2004, Blackwater was authorized by the U.S. Department of State to perform orders issued under the Worldwide Personal Protective Services (WPPS I) umbrella contract.[29] Blackwater's first mission under WPPS I was to provide private security for the provisional U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.[30] Although Triple Canopy, Inc. and DynCorp International also qualified for WPPS I directives, Blackwater was issued the majority of diplomatic security task orders in Iraq and was authorized to deploy 482 personnel in Iraq (excluding sub-contractors) over the course of 2 years. The total breadth of Blackwater's activities in Iraq for non-diplomatic security operations, as well as other potential deployments in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Israel authorized under the WPPS I contract are unknown.[31] Between July 1, 2004, and June 6, 2006, Blackwater received $488 million from the WPPS I contract, despite the entire five-year contract having a set maximum value of approximately $332 million.[31][32] The substantial cost of Blackwater's services was investigated by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and eventuated in the use of a competitive bidding system in the revised WPPS II umbrella contract.[33][32]
On September 1, 2005, following Hurricane Katrina, Blackwater dispatched a rescue team and helicopter to support relief operations.[34] Blackwater moved about 200 personnel into the area impacted by Hurricane Katrina, most of whom (164 employees) were working under a contract with the Federal Protective Service to protect government facilities,[26] but the company held contracts with private clients as well. Blackwater's presence after Katrina cost the federal government $240,000 per day.[35]
In July 2005, the U.S. State Department first awarded the WPPS II contract to succeed WPPS I with a new competitive bidding system and a strict maximum value of $1.2 billion per contractor.[32] Blackwater, Triple Canopy and DynCorp were the only private security firms qualified for WPPS II task orders, authorised for deployments in "non-permissive environments" such as Jerusalem, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Iraq.[31] In May 2006 the WPPS II contract began issuing task orders in Iraq, ultimately authorizing Blackwater to deploy 1,020 staff in the country.[32] Blackwater's responsibilities included the United States embassy in Baghdad.[36] At the time it was a privately held company and published limited information about internal affairs.[37] The total cost of Blackwater's work under WPPS II remains unknown, however, it was disclosed that Blackwater was paid over $832 million for their work in Iraq under WPPS I and WPPS II directives from 2001 to 2006.[32]
Leadership
Cofer Black, the company's vice-chairman from 2006 through 2008, was director of the CIA's Counterterrorist Center (CTC) at the time of the September 11 attacks in 2001. He was the United States Department of State coordinator for counterterrorism with the rank of Ambassador-at-Large from December 2002 to November 2004. After leaving public service, Black became chairman of the privately owned intelligence-gathering company Total Intelligence Solutions, Inc., as well as vice-chairman of Blackwater.[38][39]
Robert Richer was vice president of intelligence until January 2007, when he formed Total Intelligence Solutions. He was formerly the head of the CIA's Near East Division.[38][39]
2006–2007: New training centers
In November 2006, Blackwater USA announced that it had acquired an 80-acre (32 ha) facility 120 miles (190 km) west of Chicago in Mount Carroll, Illinois, called Impact Training Center. This facility has been operational since April 2007 and serves law enforcement agencies throughout the Midwest.[citation ^needed]
Blackwater tried to open an 824-acre (3.33 km2) training facility three miles north of Potrero, a small town in rural east San Diego County, California, located 45 miles (72 km) east of San Diego, for military and law enforcement training.[40][41][42][43] The opening had faced heavy opposition from local residents, residents of nearby San Diego, local Congressmember Bob Filner, and environmentalist and anti-war organizations. Opposition focused on a potential for wildfire increases, the proposed facility's proximity to the Cleveland National Forest, noise pollution, and opposition to the actions of Blackwater in Iraq.[44][45] In response, Brian Bonfiglio, project manager for Blackwater West, said: "There will be no explosives training and no tracer ammunition. Lead bullets don't start fires." In October 2007, when wildfires swept through the area, Blackwater made at least three deliveries of food, water, personal hygiene products and generator fuel to 300 residents near the proposed training site, many of whom had been trapped for days without supplies. They also set up a "tent city" for evacuees.[46] On March 7, 2008, Blackwater withdrew its application to set up a facility in San Diego County.[47]
2007–2009: Blackwater Worldwide
Blackwater logo introduced 2007 (top) and original logo (below)
In October 2007, the month after the Nisour Square massacre, Blackwater USA began the process of changing its name to Blackwater Worldwide and unveiled a new logo.[48] The change deemphasized the "cross hair" reticle theme, simplifying it slightly.[48]
...
2010–2014: Academi
In 2010, Xe was acquired by USTC Holdings, an investor consortium, who sought to further re-brand the company. The sale formally ended Erik Prince's operational and management role in the company.[56] Xe was officially renamed "Academi" in 2011.[57][5] Academi's Board of Directors included former Attorney General John Ashcroft, former White House Counsel and Vice Presidential Chief of Staff Jack Quinn, retired Admiral and former NSA Director Bobby Ray Inman,[58] and Texas businessman Red McCombs, who served as chairman of the board.[59] Quinn and Ashcroft were independent directors, without other affiliations to Academi.[60]
In May 2011, Academi named Ted Wright as CEO.[61] Wright hired Suzanne Rich Folsom as Academi's chief regulatory and compliance officer and deputy general counsel.[62] The Academi Regulatory and Compliance team won National Law Journal's 2012 Corporate Compliance Office of the Year Award.[63]
In 2012, retired Brigadier General Craig Nixon was named the new CEO of Academi.[64]
2014–present: Constellis Holdings
A merger between Triple Canopy and Academi, along with other companies that were part of the Constellis Group package, are now all gathered under the Constellis Holdings, Inc. umbrella.[65] The transaction brought together companies including Triple Canopy, Constellis Ltd., Strategic Social, Tidewater Global Services, National Strategic Protective Services, Academi Training Center, and International Development Solutions.[8]
In 2015, six Colombian mercenaries reportedly employed by Constellis were killed in Yemen, led by an Australian commander hired by the United Arab Emirates to fight the Houthi insurgency.[66]
In 2016, Houthi sources claimed that Tochka missile strikes killed over 120 coalition mercenaries in Ma'rib, including 11 foreign Blackwater commanders.[67] Another reported strike later that month at Al Anad Air Base allegedly killed 200 Sudanese fighters and their commander, identified by some sources as a U.S. Colonel.[67]
In September 2016, Constellis was acquired by Apollo Global Management.[68]
In early 2020, Constellis entered debt restructuring talks after missing a $1 billion debt payment and agreeing to a forbearance with creditors.[69] The company’s financial difficulties followed a decline in overseas contracts and higher startup costs on new domestic work.
Constellis relocated its global headquarters to Herndon, Virginia in February 2020.[70][non-primary ^source ^needed]
Board of directors
- Red McCombs (chairman)[71]
- John Ashcroft[71]
- Dean Bosacki[71]
- Jason DeYonker[71]
- Bobby Ray Inman[71]
- Jack Quinn[71]
- Russ Robinson[71]
Services and products
Constellis has a variety of services and product offerings....
Federal prosecution
In August 2012, the company agreed to pay $7.5 million in fines, without admitting guilt, to the U.S. government to settle various charges involving pre-Academi personnel. February 2013, the majority of the remaining charges were dropped when it was shown that, in many cases, the Blackwater employees had been acting under the orders of the U.S. government.[9][200][201][202] Once the court decision had been finalized, Academi pointed out that "[t]he court decision involves former Blackwater executives, none of whom have ever worked for ACADEMI or the current ownership."[203]
After the Nisour Square killings of 17 Iraqi civilians and the injury of 20 more by Blackwater convoy guards in a Baghdad traffic circle in September 2007, charges were brought against five guards. One pleaded guilty to a lesser offense in exchange for his testimony for the prosecution. Three were eventually convicted in October 2014 of 14 manslaughter charges and in April 2015 sentenced to 30 years plus one day in prison. These sentences were deemed unfair upon appeal and these three await resentencing. Another was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison; however, this verdict was overturned in August 2017.[204]
On December 22, 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump pardoned four former Blackwater contractors serving long prison terms: Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard. The pardons do not establish innocence; however, they were criticised, both in the U.S. and in Iraq, as condoning killing of innocent civilians.[205][206]
See also
- Arms industry
- Executive Outcomes
- Prince Foundation
- Shadow Company
- Wagner Group - Russian private military company
- Mozart Group - American military volunteer group in Ukraine
References
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The Intercept
Blackwater Successor Constellis Hunts Immigrants for ICE
4 days agoBlackwater Successor Hunts Immigrants for ICE Constellis Holdings, which traces its roots to Erik Prince's mercenary firm Blackwater, landed an ICE contract as a bounty hunter.
world-today-journal.com
https://www.world-today-journal.com › constellis-ice-tracking-immigrants-blackwaters-shadowy-legacy
Constellis & ICE: Tracking Immigrants - Blackwater's Shadowy Legacy
4 days agoPrivate Contractor Hired too Track Down Immigrants for ICE: A Deep Dive Teh U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has contracted with Omniplex World Services, a subsidiary of Constellis, to conduct "skip tracing" - essentially, locating individuals for potential deportation. This raises serious questions about the methods being employed and the implications for civil ...
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Blackwater_(company)
Blackwater (company) - Wikipedia
Constellis, formerly Blackwater, is an American private military contractor founded on December 26, 1997, [2] by former Navy SEAL officer Erik Prince. [3][4] It was renamed Xe Services in 2009, and was again renamed to Academi in 2011, after it was acquired by a group of private investors. [5] In 2014, Academi merged with Triple Canopy to form Constellis Holdings. [6][7][8] Constellis and its ...
Constellis
Home - Constellis
Constellis provides end-to-end risk management and comprehensive security solutions to safeguard people and infrastructure globally. Our team of strategic problem solvers has a steadfast moral compass and unwavering dedication to the success of our customers and partners.
article.wn.com
https://article.wn.com › view-steel › 2026 › 01 › 03 › Blackwater_Successor_Hunts_Immigrants_for_ICE
Blackwater Successor Hunts Immigrants for ICE - Steel.com
4 days agoConstellisGrangex secures strategic partnership with Anglo American to support Sydvaranger mine restart Salzgitter to downsize and continue operating HKM steel plant Jingye Group Successfully Produced 780DP-CS Cold-Rolled Duplex Steel
news.bgov.com
Blackwater Pushes to Outmaneuver Other DHS Security Vendors
Feb 26, 2025Securitas and GEO Group could lose out on market share for providing security-related services to the Homeland Security Department if a $25 billion proposal by former Blackwater CEO Erik Prince results in contracts to Constellis Holdings LLC, the parent firm of Academi, a later name for Blackwater.
ryanjhite.com
The Evolution of Blackwater: From Controversy to Constellis Holdings
May 25, 2024Discover the complex history of Blackwater, a premier private military contractor, its controversies, and its transformation into Constellis Holdings, a global security company.
El Diario
¿Erik Dean Prince dijo que entregará a miembros del gobierno venezolano?
Aug 16, 2024Es falso. En la plataforma de mensajería WhatsApp circuló una imagen en el que se dice que supuestamente el empresario Erik Dean Prince, exmilitar estadounidense y fundador de la compañía militar privada Blackwater, aseguró que «en cuatro días» cumplirá la misión de entregar «vivos o muertos» a funcionarios del gobierno de Venezuela.
Metrópoles
https://www.metropoles.com › mundo › mercenario-eua-acao-contra-maduro
Tic-tac: líder mercenário dos EUA ameaça ação contra Maduro em 5 dias
Sep 11, 2024O empresário dos Estados Unidos Erik Prince, um dos nomes mais conhecidos no mundo dos mercenários, fez uma nova ameaça contra o regime de Nicolás Maduro e anunciou que uma ação deve acontecer na Venezuela dentro de cinco dias. Na última segunda-feira (9/9), o fundador da Blackwater ...
EL NACIONAL
¿Erik Prince, fundador de la empresa de mercenarios Blackwater, dijo ...
Aug 16, 2024A nuestro WhatsApp llegó la solicitud de verificar si es cierto que el empresario Erik Dean Prince, ex SEAL de la Armada de los Estados Unidos y fundador de la compañía militar privada Blackwater, aseguró que cumplirá la misión de entregar vivos o muertos a Nicolás Maduro, Diosdado
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