Liberian child soldier warlord 'Black Diamond' deported from US after years in hiding

A woman once feared in Liberia for leading child soldiers has been deported from the United States, federal officials announced. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed that Mayama Sesay, 43, was removed to Liberia on September 5.

Sesay, known during the Liberian civil wars as rebel commander “Black Diamond,” ran an all-female unit called the Women’s Artillery Commandos within the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD).

At just 22, she was already recruiting and training child soldiers to fight against forces loyal to then-President Charles Taylor. Witnesses said she became notorious for violent tactics, including beating captives and using mortar bombs against both troops and civilians.

Sesay entered the US on a visitor visa in 2014, later marrying a US citizen and applying for permanent residency. During her immigration interview, she denied being “Black Diamond” or having any role in LURD. An immigration judge later ruled that she had lied, citing her involvement in recruiting and using child soldiers, and ordered her deportation in May 2022.

The Board of Immigration Appeals upheld that ruling. ICE officers in Atlanta took her into custody earlier this year.

The case was handled by ICE’s Office of the Principal Legal Advisor with support from the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center.

The center, established in 2003, works to track down and prosecute human rights offenders who enter the US. Its efforts have led to over 79,000 lookouts being issued for suspected war criminals and have blocked nearly 400 people from entering the country.