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Promising ‘true liberation,’ Pompeo contrasts U.S. role in Africa with China’s

Capping a three-country swing across Africa, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a speech Wednesday in Ethiopia's capital in which he warned African countries to "be wary of authoritarian regimes and their empty promises" and said economic partnership with the United States was the path.

US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, right, shakes hands with US Ambassador to the African Union, Jessica Lapenn, as the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, Vera Songwe, centre, looks on as he arrives at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa on Wednesday Feb. 19, 2020.
US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, right, shakes hands with US Ambassador to the African Union, Jessica Lapenn, as the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, Vera Songwe, centre, looks on as he arrives at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa on Wednesday Feb. 19, 2020.Read moreAndrew Caballero-Reynolds / AP