With less than a year to go before the October 2023 general election, President George Weah has been weakened on several fronts. The United States, Liberia's traditional ally, has forced him to sideline his closest collaborator. On 15 August, the powerful minister of state for presidential affairs Nathaniel F. McGill was placed under sanctions by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). McGill, who was in charge of all strategic issues, was a key contact for diplomats and investors,