Erik Prince, the founder of the private military contractor Blackwater, continues to be a prominent and polarizing figure in global security and private military operations. Now 57, Prince has shifted from running Blackwater—a company once notorious for its role in Iraq—to a broader entrepreneurial role providing security and logistical services in unstable regions worldwide.
Prince sold Blackwater in 2010 for what he described as "a fraction of what it was worth" following intense public backlash over the company's involvement in the 2007 Nisour Square incident in Baghdad, where 17 Iraqi civilians were killed by Blackwater guards. Four guards involved were convicted in the United States but later pardoned by former President Donald Trump in 2020. After divesting, Prince embarked on various ventures, recruiting mercenaries for Abu Dhabi, combating piracy off Somalia, and advising Chinese government entities on overseas security logistics—a role he insists did not involve private military contracting due to the Chinese Communist Party's strict controls.
Prince declined an invitation from the Kremlin to establish a Russian equivalent of Blackwater, stating his loyalty to Western civilization. Currently, his interests include a privacy-focused mobile phone company, an oil firm operating in high-risk countries, and Vectus Global, which has armed personnel deployed in Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Prince describes Vectus not as a defense contractor but as a means to stabilize failing governments by securing environments for resource extraction while taking a percentage of revenues collected, often via tax contracts negotiated with local authorities.
In Haiti, Prince’s team has been tasked with confronting widespread gang violence in Port-au-Prince, where he claims they have reclaimed about half the city, despite being outnumbered. He acknowledges his operations meet the definition of mercenary activity, emphasizing the long history of professional soldiers acting as private forces. He stressed that his men give multiple chances for surrender before engaging, preferring disarmament paired with work programs to reduce gang recruitment.
In the DRC, Prince’s focus is on countering mineral theft by armed groups like M23, which UN experts say is backed by the Rwandan army. These groups reportedly funnel hundreds of millions of dollars monthly from mining revenue, reinvesting in sophisticated weaponry, including drones, missile systems, and electronic jamming equipment. According to Prince, the rules of engagement are clear when his forces come under attack with radar-guided missiles.
Prince recently returned from Ukraine, where he highlights the transformative role of drone warfare, particularly first-person view (FPV) drones, which he says are responsible for about 70% of enemy casualties on the battlefield. As chairman of a US-listed Ukrainian drone company, he notes the country’s decentralized military procurement system, which contrasts sharply with the U.S. Department of Defense’s traditional centralized approach. Prince warns that prolonged conflict in Ukraine serves the interests of China’s People’s Liberation Army and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, whom he describes as "riding a tiger" with limited options to end the war without causing profound domestic and military disruption.
On the geopolitical front, Prince critiques the Trump administration’s handling of Iran, calling it “badly advised” and poorly planned, though he declined to reveal specifics of his alternative proposals. He anticipates Gulf states will increasingly reduce dependence on U.S. military support, favoring a diversified approach involving other nations and private defense providers capable of rapid adaptation.
Prince maintains close ties to influential figures such as Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, though he says he has not been recently contacted. He also dismissed media portrayals that frame him as a mercenary villain, arguing that private military contractors perform roles historically filled by smaller, agile forces. He attributes much of the criticism of Blackwater to ideological opposition from the anti-war left.
Regarding Venezuela, Prince expressed caution about investing amid persistent instability, despite the country's substantial oil reserves. He praised the operation to remove Nicolás Maduro as "brilliant" but noted that entrenched criminal networks remain a significant obstacle to stability and economic development.
Throughout the discussion, Prince reiterated his advocacy for limited federal government and greater individual liberty, shaped by his formative experiences witnessing Cold War Europe’s divisions. He characterized the current U.S. government as overly expansive, contrasting that with his preference for entrepreneurial approaches to security and governance challenges in fragile states.
Prince’s renewed role in private security reflects a shift from pure military contracting toward broader engagement in the privatization of failing state functions, particularly in securing resources and stabilizing governance in difficult environments. His ventures continue to spark debate about the ethics and implications of outsourcing state security tasks to private entities operating across global hotspots.