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,
2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt for ample time to plan, mobile, equip and deploy the force." Smith, who claims he has received death threats since the plot was thwarted, said there was no response from British or US authorities to his warnings: The only thing that happened was that the US authorities froze the Equatorial Guinea money with the Riggs Bank in USA. On 25 August 2004, Mark Thatcher, the son of the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Margaret Thatcher, was arrested under anti-mercenary laws in South Africa after being accused of helping to finance the coup to remove President Obiang. Crause Steyl