This was in part because Zairian leader Mobutu Sese Seko was considered to be a strong anti-communist and anti-socialist, and the United States government saw Zaire as a useful stability buffer to prevent the spread of communism and socialism in Africa.

Zaire also found itself on the same side as the United States and South Africa fighting Cuban and Soviet backed revolutionaries during the Angolan Civil War.

After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 however, relations weakened significantly, and with communism and socialism being less of a threat to American interests in Africa, the United States government saw less of a need to prop up Mobutu's regime, that was also accused of human rights violations.

The United States also supported UN efforts to create a Joint Verification Mechanism to monitor the border between the DRC and Rwanda.

These protests were in response to the escalating conflict in the DRC's eastern regions, which has led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.