The story about the Green Beret found murdered in his apartment in Mali has taken an ominous twist. A recent piece penned by the Daily Beast, says SSG Logan Melgar of the 3rd Special Forces Group was murdered by two Navy SEALs from SEAL Team Six after he found out about the pair’s stealing of cash designed to pay informants involved in intelligence gathering operations.
The story, which claims that they got from official sources says Melgar found out about the SEALs illegal activity and was concerned. He told his wife over the phone his concerns and said that he’d explain more after he returned home.
This account is based on five members of the special-operations community who were not cleared to speak publicly. Representatives of both U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) declined comment for this story, as the Navy Criminal Investigative Service(NCIS) has an active investigation into Melgar’s death. NCIS would not comment beyond confirming the investigation is underway.
As the elite troops do in so many countries, they operate in the shadows, with comparatively little oversight—and what their actions actually look like on the ground can be much dirtier than the heroic image the Pentagon prefers to portray.
For example, part of the intelligence gathering operation in Mali involved a fund used to pay informants.
Melgar, two special operations sources say, discovered the SEALs were pocketing some of the money from the informant fund. The SEALS offered to cut him in, but Melgar declined, these sources said.
It is unknown what specifically started the June 4 altercation at 5 a.m. but it escalated. Melgar lost consciousness—and, worse, stopped breathing. The SEALs attempted to open an airway in Melgar’s throat, officials said. It is unknown whether Melgar died immediately. The SEALs and another Green Beret, according to former AFRICOM officials, drove to a nearby French clinic seeking help. Melgar was dead when he arrived at the clinic, the official said. Asphyxiation was the cause of death.
The SEALs story was that Melgar was drunk and was killed in a combatives exercise. One of the SEALs was a mixed martial arts fighter. Except that no alcohol was found in Melgar’s system. One of the sources used in the story told the authors that Melgar didn’t drink at all. That sent red flags up in the community and General David Bolduc, the then commander of the Special Operations Command Africa alerted the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division.
To read the entire article from The Daily Beast, click here:
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