U.S.-led coup against Lumumba in the Democratic Republic of Congo Patrice Lumumba was the first democratic president after independence, from June to September, and because of his anti-imperialist policy it was a limit of trend for Belgium and the US. He fled, but was captured and killed in January 1961. In a telegram dated 26 August, CIA director Allen Dulles told his agents in Congo: "We have decided that its elimination is our most important goal." The Western states made it clear that they would not accept any discoloration process that would jeopardize their economic interests.