State Department Approved a $5 Million Payment to Liberia Before Its Deportee Deal, Internal Documents Reportedly Show

The State Department approved a $5 million payment to Liberia in December in connection with the arrangement to send third-country deportees there, according to internal documents reviewed by the New York Times. Separately, Semafor reported that Reuters had found Liberia received $5 million from the United States earlier this year for "migration management activities."

The reported payment sits awkwardly with Liberia's public statement that it had not demanded or received compensation or any promise of reward, and its description of the deal as carrying no quid pro quo. Similar payments have accompanied earlier third-country removal deals elsewhere in Africa.

The State Department has declined to discuss the terms, saying it does not comment on private diplomatic communications. No U.S. official has publicly linked the payment to the deportee agreement.