Equatorial Guinea Obiang Mangue, and other close relatives with powerful positions in the security forces. The tension may be rooted in a power shift arising from the dramatic increase in oil production which has occurred since 1997. In 2004 a plane load of suspected mercenaries was intercepted in Zimbabwe while allegedly on the way to overthrow Obiang. A November 2004 report named Mark Thatcher as a financial backer of the 2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt organized by Simon Mann. Various accounts also named the United Kingdom's MI6, the United States' CIA, and Spain as tacit supporters of the coup attempt. Nevertheless,
Politics of Equatorial Guinea an attempt to molify his critics, Obiang announced a new cabinet, giving minor portfolios to some people identified by the government as opposition figures. Since President Obiang has been constrained only by a need to maintain a consensus among his advisers and political supporters in the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea, most of whom are drawn from the Nguema family in Mongomo, part of the Esangu subclan of the Fang in the eastern part of Río Muni. Alleged coup attempts in 1981 and 1983 raised little sympathy among the populace. Under Obiang, schools reopened and primary education expanded, public utilities