As a longstanding friend, the United States applauds the people of Liberia for exercising their democratic right to vote in the historic presidential and legislative elections. This is an important step toward achieving Liberia’s first peaceful transfer of power from one democratically-elected head of state to another in decades.

We salute Liberia’s success in holding free and fair elections in 2005, 2011, and 2014 and urge Liberians to build on that tradition by peacefully and patiently awaiting the official results from the National Elections Commission.

The United States stands by the people of Liberia in their efforts to continue building their country, its democracy, and its future. While challenges remain, we look forward to advancing our longstanding mutual interests in economic development, trade, security, health care, and the strengthening of democratic institutions.

The Office of Website Management, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department.
External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.

The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice Program is offering rewards for information leading to the location, arrest, or conviction in any country of two key leaders of the Lebanon-based terrorist group Hizballah. The Department is offering a reward of up to $7 million for information on Talal Hamiyah, and up to $5 million for information on Fu’ad Shukr.

Hizballah has been involved in numerous terrorist attacks against Americans, including the suicide truck bombings of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut in April 1983, the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut in October 1983, the U.S. Embassy annex in Beirut in September 1984, and the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 in 1985. Hizballah’s victims have also included numerous other nationalities.

Talal Hamiyah has been linked to several terrorist attacks, hijackings, and kidnappings targeting U.S. citizens. He leads Hizballah’s international terrorist branch, the External Security Organization (ESO). The ESO maintains terrorist cells worldwide and is responsible for planning and conducting terrorist attacks outside of Lebanon. Those attacks have targeted primarily Israelis and Americans.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Hamiyah as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to Executive Order 13224 on September 13, 2012. As a result of the designation, all of Hamiyah’s assets that are based in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are frozen, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.

Fu’ad Shukr is a senior Hizballah military commander of the group’s forces in southern Lebanon and a member of Hizballah’s highest military body, the Jihad Council. Shukr played a key role in Hizballah’s recent military operations in Syria and in planning and launching the 1983 attack on the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut in which 241 U.S. service personnel were killed. The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Shukr as a Specially Designated National pursuant to Executive Order 13582 on July 21, 2015 for acting for or on behalf of Hizballah.

More information about these reward offers is located on the Rewards for Justice website at www.rewardsforjustice.net. We encourage anyone with information on these individuals to contact the Rewards for Justice office via the website, e-mail (info@rewardsforjustice.net), phone (1-800-877-3927 in North America), or mail (Rewards for Justice, Washington, D.C., 20520-0303, USA). All information will be kept strictly confidential.

The Rewards for Justice program is administered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security. Since its inception in 1984, the program has paid in excess of $145 million to more than 90 people who provided actionable information that helped bring terrorists to justice or prevented acts of international terrorism worldwide. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Rewards4Justice.

The Office of Website Management, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department.
External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon will travel to New York City, October 10–11.

In New York, Under Secretary Shannon will deliver the keynote address at the Latin America, United States and Spain in the Global Economy Forum, hosted jointly by the Spain-U.S. Chamber of Commerce and El País.

For further information regarding the Forum, please visit http://www.spainuscc.org/public/USSCC/Events/Our-Events.aspx.

The Office of Website Management, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department.
External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.

On behalf of the people of the United States, I send my best wishes to the people of Fiji as you celebrate the 47th anniversary of your nation’s independence this October 10.

This has been a remarkable year for Fiji, and I offer my congratulations for taking on a global leadership role as President of the United Nations General Assembly, host of the UN Oceans Conference, and President of this year’s 23rd Convention of Parties. The United States also values Fiji’s leadership and commitment to global peace and stability through UN peacekeeping operations.

The United States and Fiji have enjoyed a close friendship, and our partnership on regional and global issues grows stronger, as demonstrated during our first bilateral strategic dialogue earlier this year. We take great satisfaction in the rich ties between our peoples, including our cooperation through the U.S. Peace Corps, which next year will celebrate its 50th anniversary in Fiji. We also appreciate the Fijian communities who share their culture and warm spirit in the United States.

The United States celebrates with you on this special day. Once again, congratulations on your independence day.

The Office of Website Management, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department.
External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.

The President’s new immigration priorities are focused on keeping Americans safe, ensuring our sovereignty through strong borders, and preserving our country as a nation of laws. The first duty of the federal government is to provide for the national security of the American people, and President Trump’s measures will end vulnerabilities in our immigration system that hinder our ability to protect our homeland.

The State Department will do its part by, among other measures, continuing to crack down on passport fraud, making sure all visa applicants are thoroughly screened, and putting pressure on countries to curb illegal immigration at the source. Working together with other federal agencies, we will continue to implement measures that strengthen vetting of those referred for refugee resettlement. Even as we take new steps to protect Americans, we will make sure the United States remains a beacon of liberty for people the world over.

The Office of Website Management, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department.
External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.