Relationship dossier
Equatorial Guinea
United States
Relationship assessment
U.S. engagement with Equatorial Guinea has been accompanied by sanctions and legal action over corruption concerns.
Equatorial Guinea toward United States
Not assessedUnited States toward Equatorial Guinea
-20The United States has pursued legal action involving assets linked to Teodoro Obiang’s son and imposed sanctions on Equatorial Guinean officials, including Vice President Teodorín Obiang, over corruption concerns. These measures have been accompanied by continued diplomatic engagement.
Overall relationship
Not assessedHow to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
U.S.–Equatorial Guinea relations combine diplomatic engagement with significant U.S. concern over corruption and human rights. The United States has used sanctions and legal measures targeting senior Equatorial Guinean officials, while maintaining bilateral relations. Specific Equatorial Guinean government conduct toward the United States is not sufficiently clear to characterize independently.
Areas of tension
- U.S. legal and sanctions measures targeting senior Equatorial Guinean officials over corruption concerns.
Key developments
The U.S. Department of Justice reached a settlement involving assets acquired by Teodorín Obiang, Equatorial Guinea’s vice president and son of the president.
The United States imposed sanctions on Teodorín Obiang under the Global Magnitsky program over alleged corruption.
Major uncertainties
- The scope of practical bilateral cooperation beyond diplomatic engagement is unclear.
- The extent to which U.S. sanctions and legal measures have affected government-to-government cooperation is unclear.