Aid worker held hostage in Yemen had secret military job

Revelation could spawn distrust of relief efforts

WASHINGTON — An American kidnapped two years ago in Yemen while helping coordinate aid for UNICEF and the Red Cross also had a second, secret role: He was shipping materials for elite military commandos under a clandestine contract his employer had with the Pentagon. The arrangement with Special Operations forces has never been made public.

The former hostage, Scott Darden, was the Yemen country director for Transoceanic Development, a New Orleansbased logistics company that specializes in transporting cargo to the world’s most dangerous hot spots. It belongs to a small group of firms that provide humanitarian aid to famine-stricken women and children at the same time that they help set up safe houses and supply networks for the military’s secret kill-or-capture commando units.

Darden’s work offers a rare look into the shadowy world of military contractors that operate in lawless war zones like Yemen, Somalia and Libya. But arrangements like the one Transoceanic had with Special Operations forces can cast suspicion over aid workers, potentially putting them in harm’s way, and can jeopardize humanitarian efforts in countries that depend on relief organizations.

“The bottom line is there aren’t a lot of companies willing and able to

provide those kind of necessary services in a place like Yemen,” said Gerald M. Feierstein, a former ambassador to Yemen who in 2015 was the State Department’s second-ranking diplomat for Middle East policy, but who said he was not aware of Darden’s relationship with the military. “It’s not like you have people pounding down the doors for those contracts.”

Six former and current U.S. officials confirmed the military’s secret contract with Transoceanic, describing only its broad contours and only on the condition of anonymity because the details are highly classified. Spokesmen for the Pentagon and the military’s Special Operations and Central Commands, as well as Transoceanic, declined to respond to written questions, citing the matter’s classification. The Pentagon also refused to disclose details of the vetting that contractors undergo before they work with Special Operations forces overseas. Darden refused to answer questions about his ordeal or relationship with the U.S. military.

This secretiveness has prompted some lawmakers to call for greater scrutiny of the military’s clandestine units. “There is not enough oversight, certainly from Congress,” said Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., a member of the House Armed Services Committee, who is a former Marine officer and served four tours in Iraq.

It is not uncommon for the Pentagon or U.S. spy agencies to rely on Americans such as Darden, 47, a Florida-born Muslim convert who speaks fluent Arabic, to ferry supplies and money around the world. As the head of Transoceanic’s operations in Yemen, Darden oversaw several dozen employees and offices in Sanaa, the capital, as well as in Aden and Hodeidah, two of the country’s most important ports.

But why Darden, a bespectacled, heavyset man before he was detained, risked venturing into to the maelstrom in Yemen was unclear.

Yemen has been one of the most active conflict zones for Special Operations forces in the post-Sept. 11 era. It is where the United States is battling hardened al-Qaida fighters and where a member of the Navy’s SEAL Team Six died in January in the first commando raid approved by President Donald Trump.

At the time Darden was captured, about 125 Special Operations advisers had been working closely with Yemeni military and counterterrorism forces. Those advisers and other clandestine operators relied on companies like Transoceanic for much of their logistical support.

The company says it delivers “vital cargo worldwide on time and intact for humanitarian relief, defense and peacekeeping missions, and reconstruction projects.” According to Transoceanic, the “world’s leading NGOs, relief organizations, and governments rely on it,” using an acronym for nongovernmental organizations.

Darden also handled contracts with UNICEF and the International Committee of the Red Cross, according to his LinkedIn profile and people familiar with his work in Yemen.

Anna K. Nelson, a spokeswoman for the ICRC, said it was unaware of Darden’s relationship with the U.S. military. Transoceanic had a six-month contract with the Red Cross that began in June 2014, according to Nelson.

“Transoceanic’s role was strictly related to the processing of standard paperwork,” she said. Transoceanic helped the Red Cross clear customs, serving as a middleman between the relief organization and Yemeni government ministries.

Najwa Mekki, a spokeswoman for UNICEF, said the organization had contracted with Transoceanic through September 2016 “to provide warehousing services in Yemen,” but was not aware that the company was also helping supply the military.

“We would not enter into contracts that would create risks for UNICEF operations or our personnel,” Mekki said in a statement.

Using the cover of humanitarian aid is fraught with serious risks, and the consequences can be deadly. In 2011, the news media revealed that the CIA had hired a Pakistani doctor to run a vaccination campaign to obtain the DNA of Osama bin Laden. Afterward, health workers in Pakistan were attacked, and the CIA said it would no longer use vaccine programs as cover.