In which Prime Minister Margaret’s wayward son bankrolled a botched military coup in the oil-rich but squalid enclave known as Equatorial Guinea.

Mark Thatcher, now a fugitive in Spain, is described by one acquaintance as having “an ego the size of a herd of elephants and the attention span of a gnat…”

“We are therefore dealing with an emergent zone of immense power and prosperity, complete with power elite, home to the most strategic national resources, strategic natural location, a militant force (military wing), considerable economic and media power and an increasingly trenchant public relations presence that resonates internationally. …  As the amnesty process has made obvious, the area also harbours the largest pool of illegal arms in the hands of an assortment of criminal and semi criminal gangs.”–  via allAfrica.com