Aid Coordinator in Yemen Had Secret Job Overseeing U.S. Commando Shipments
After word leaked on Facebook in September 2015 that Mr. Darden was being held captive in Yemen, a spokesman for Transoceanic issued a statement saying Mr. Darden "was in Yemen coordinating the warehousing
and delivery of humanitarian aid as part of his job in international logistics." No mention was made of his secret work with the military.
that 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,
Special Operations officials warned Mr. Darden not to go to Yemen, as did Sam Farran, a security expert working for Transoceanic
and a former Marine who had worked at the United States Embassy in Yemen.
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 N.G.O.s, relief organizations, and governments rely on it." Mr. 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.
But, Mr. Farran said, Mr. Darden never told him about a relationship with the American military or why he had rushed back to Yemen.
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.
