Relations between the United States and Ghana were particularly rocky in the early 1980s , apparently because of Ghana 's relations with Libya . The PNDC government restored diplomatic relations with Libya shortly after coming to power . Libya came to the aid of Ghana soon afterward by providing much-needed economic assistance . Libya also has extensive financial holdings in Ghana . Jerry Rawlings supported Libya 's position that two Libyans accused of bombing a Pan American Airlines flight over Lockerbie , Scotland , in 1988 should be tried in a neutral country rather than in Britain or the United States
bombing a Pan American Airlines
Pan Am Flight 103
Ghana–United States relations