On November 12, 2015, President Obama published an Executive Order terminating the sanctions against Liberia. According to this news report, the sanctions had been put in place in 2004 and “imposed asset freezes on former Liberian President Charles Taylor, people belonging to his immediate family, his close associates or officials of his former regime, those who have been involved in the unlawful depletion of Liberian resources, and entities owned or controlled by designated persons.” According to the Executive Order, the president decided to lift the sanctions because Liberia had made significant progress towards promoting democracy, held free presidential elections, and affirmed the fifty-year prison sentence for former President Taylor.