Prince credits the 1994 Rwandan genocide with his decision to start Blackwater . He later said , " It really bothered me . It made me realize you ca n't sit back and pontificate . You have to act . " From 1997 to 2010 , Blackwater was awarded $ 2 billion in government security contracts , more than $ 1.6 billion of which were unclassified federal contracts and an unknown amount of classified work . From 2001 to 2010 , the Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ) awarded up to $ 600 million in classified contracts to Blackwater and its affiliates . It became the largest of the State Department 's three private security companies , providing 987 guards for embassies and bases abroad . Prince built a shooting range on his rural Virginia land to serve as a nearby training facility to CIA headquarters in Langley , Va . In his memoir Prince says that he provided the CIA with links to Afghan warlords who helped " topple the Taliban and drive al Qaeda into hiding . " Blackwater came under increasing criticism after the Nisour Square massacre in September 2007 , in which Blackwater employees opened fire in a crowded square in Baghdad , killing 17 Iraqi civilians and seriously wounding 20 more . Three guards were convicted in October 2014 of 14 manslaughter charges , and another of murder , in a U.S. court
Rwandan genocide
Rwandan genocide
Erik Prince