The Trump administration made a $7.5 million payment to the government of Equatorial Guinea as it seeks to deport people to the West African country and draws closer to 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 over the responsible, transparent use of American taxpayer dollars.”

Shaheen said in her letter that the $7.5 million payment stood out because it would would “far exceed the amount of U.S. foreign assistance provided over the last 8 years combined” to the countr

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