ICE Deports Former Liberian Combatant Accused of War-Era Atrocities

Monrovia — A former Liberian combatant accused by U.S. authorities of involvement in killings, torture and the recruitment of child soldiers during Liberia’s civil wars has been deported from the United States to Liberia after nearly two decades in the country.

According to an exclusive report by Fox News, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported Amos Sheik Massaquoi, 55, to Liberia on August 11, 2026, following years of immigration proceedings in the United States.

Massaquoi is believed to have served as chief bodyguard to Maj. Gen. Daniel Chea, a former leader in Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL).

According to ICE, Massaquoi is believed to have ordered or participated in extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary arrests and detentions, forced labor and the recruitment of child soldiers during Liberia’s civil wars between 1989 and 2003.

The allegations have been attributed to U.S. authorities and are not presented here as judicial findings against Massaquoi.

ICE Chicago Field Office Director Frank Padula said the agency would continue pursuing people suspected of human rights violations committed abroad.

“If you are a confirmed human rights violator and you believe you can hide in the United States, you are mistaken,” Padula said, according to Fox News.

He added that ICE would “pursue, arrest and remove” individuals who committed atrocities abroad and prevent U.S. communities from becoming a refuge from accountability.

Nearly Two Decades in U.S.

Massaquoi legally entered the United States in August 2006 but was authorized to remain only until November 6 of that year.

He remained in the country beyond his authorized stay until Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrested him in Maryland in August 2019 for being unlawfully present in the United States.

An immigration judge subsequently granted him bond, and he was released less than two months later.

ICE’s Baltimore office took Massaquoi back into custody on April 1, 2025, after authorities said he had failed to comply with the conditions of his release. An immigration judge ordered his removal the following month.

Fox News also reported that Massaquoi received specialized military training at an academy in China in 2004, a year after the end of Liberia’s second civil war.

ICE Human Rights Investigation

The investigation into Massaquoi was supported by ICE’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center, which investigates individuals suspected of human rights abuses and war crimes who attempt to enter or remain in the United States.

According to ICE, the agency has arrested more than 520 people for human-rights-related violations since 2003 and removed 1,178 known or suspected human rights violators. The agency said it has also prevented more than 415 suspected human rights violators and war-crimes suspects from entering the United States.

HSI Maryland Special Agent in Charge Akil Baldwin said Massaquoi was believed to have been involved in acts including killings, torture, forced labor, unlawful imprisonment and the recruitment of children into armed conflict.

“If it is confirmed that an individual has engaged in such bloodshed anywhere in the world, then you have no place in the United States,” Baldwin said, according to Fox News.

Liberia’s Civil War Legacy

Liberia endured two civil wars between 1989 and 2003, with widespread killings, displacement and other abuses committed by multiple armed groups.

The United Nations has estimated that nearly 250,000 people were killed, most of them civilians, during the conflicts.

Massaquoi’s reported deportation comes against the backdrop of longstanding efforts to document and address atrocities committed during Liberia’s wars.

Charles Taylor, who led the NPFL rebellion before becoming president of Liberia, was later convicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone for aiding and abetting crimes committed by rebel forces in neighboring Sierra Leone. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison.