Senate Democrat questions Trump administration’s $7.5M payment to Equatorial Guinea
WASHINGTON– The Trump administration has paid $7.5 million to the government of Equatorial Guinea as it seeks to deport people to the West African country and closes in on its heavily prosecuted leaders, according to the top Democratic senator on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said in a letter sent Monday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and obtained by The Associated Press that “this highly unusual payment — to one of the most corrupt governments in the world — raises serious concerns about the responsible and transparent use of American taxpayer dollars.” »
Shaheen said in his letter that the $7.5 million payment was notable because it would “far exceed the amount of U.S. foreign aid provided to the country over the past 8 years combined.”
The payment, made from a fund for migration and refugee assistance, would be the first government-to-government transfer from the account, created by Congress to respond to humanitarian crises. She questioned whether the payment was a permissible use of the money.
The State Department declined to comment on specifics of diplomatic communications, but said: “Implementing the Trump Administration’s immigration policies is a top priority for the State Department. As Secretary Rubio has said, we remain steadfast in our commitment to ending illegal and mass immigration and strengthening the security of America’s borders.”
As the Trump administration looks to Africa for further deportations, the payment has raised questions about how it pairs its deportation agenda with other foreign policy goals, as well as which international leaders it is willing to trust.
The Trump administration, in an effort to speed up expulsions, has sought to strike deals with countries to take in migrants who are not their citizens. Immigration advocacy groups have criticized the “third country” policy as a reckless tactic that violates due process rights and can block deportees to countries with a long history of human rights abuses and corruption.
At the same time, the Trump administration has developed ties to Equatorial Guinea’s Vice President, Teodoro “Teddy” Nguema Obiang, known among world leaders accused of corruption for his lavish lifestyle that has attracted the attention of prosecutors in several countries.
The AP reported that the State Department granted him a sanctions waiver to allow him to travel to a high-level U.N. meeting in New York in September and visit other U.S. cities. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau also met with Obiang.
In addition to expulsions, the United States is trying to counter Chinese influence in Equatorial Guinea and strengthen its oil and gas business interests there.
Obiang is the son and presumed successor of Equatorial Guinea’s longtime leader. He is accused of decades of corruption and abuse of power. The vice president, who oversees national defense and security, has been under international sanctions for years and faces allegations of siphoning off state wealth while most people live in poverty.
Despite Equatorial Guinea’s oil and gas riches, at least 70% of its nearly 2 million people live in poverty. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Obiang’s father, is Africa’s longest-serving president, in power since 1979.
In 2017, a French court found the younger Obiang guilty of laundering and embezzlement of millions of euros, sentencing him to a three-year suspended prison sentence and a 30 million euro fine, as well as the confiscation of his luxury Paris properties and car collection worth tens of millions. Equatorial Guinea challenged these asset seizures before the International Court of Justice.
US prosecutors also reached a $30 million settlement with Obiang in 2014. He had to return his assets, including a Malibu mansion, a Ferrari and Michael Jackson memorabilia.
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Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.
