document_title: Armed Forces of Liberia

question_text: chief of staff of the armed forces of liberia

question_tokens: chief of staff of the armed forces of liberia

text: Armed Forces of Liberia

text: Legal standing[edit]

text: The New National Defense Act of 2008 was approved on August 21, 2008. It repeals the National Defense Act of 1956, the Coast Guard Act of 1959, and the Liberian Navy Act of 1986. The duties and functions of the AFL are officially stated as follows:[3][4]

text:
Section 2.3(a): The primary mission of the AFL shall be to defend the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Liberia, including land, air and maritime territory, against external aggressions, insurgency, terrorism and encroachment. In addition thereto the AFL shall respond to natural disasters and engage in other civic works as may be required or directed.
Section 2.3(b): The AFL shall also participate in international peacekeeping peace enforcement and other by the UN, the AU, ECOWAS, MRU, and/or all international institutions of which Liberia may be a member. All such activities shall be undertaken only upon authorization of the President of Liberia with the consent of the Legislature.
Section 2.3(c): The AFL shall provide command, communications, logistical, medical, transportation, and humanitarian support to the civil authority in the event of a natural or man-made disaster, outbreak of disease, or epidemic. Such assistance shall be authorized by the President of Liberia.
Section 2.3(d): The AFL shall assist civil authorities in search, rescue, and saving of life on land, sea, or air; such assistance shall be authorized by the President for immediate response by specialized search and rescue units in conjunction with other Government Ministries and Agencies.
Section 2.3(e): The duties of the AFL in peacetime shall include support to the national law enforcement agencies when such support is requested and approved by the President. Such support shall include exchange of information, personnel training, and mobilization and deployment of security contingents. At no time during peacetime however, shall the AFL engage in law enforcement within Liberia, such function being the prerogative of the Liberia National Police and other law enforcement agencies. Notwithstanding, the Military Police of the AFL may, on request of the Ministry of Justice made to the Ministry of National Defense, and approved by the President of Liberia, provide assistance to these law enforcement agencies as determined by prevailing situations. The AFL shall intervene only as a last resort, when the threat exceeds the capability of the law enforcement agencies to respond.
Section 2.5: Standards of Conduct for the Armed Forces of Liberia: Members of the AFL shall perform their duties at all times in accordance with democratic values and human rights. They shall perform their duties in a non-partisan manner, obey all lawful orders and commands from their superior officers in ways that command citizen respect and confidence and contribute towards the maintenance and promotion of the respect for the rule of law.

text: History[edit]

text: The modern Armed Forces of Liberia grew out of a militia that was formed by the first black colonists from the United States. The militia was first formed when in August 1822 an attack was feared on Cape Mesurado (where Monrovia now is) and the agent of the settlements directed the mobilization of all "able-bodied males into a militia and declared martial law."[5] By 1846, the size of the militia had grown to two regiments.[6] Following independence in 1847, the militia continued to serve as the country's defense force. In 1900, Liberian men between the ages of sixteen and fifty were considered liable for service in the militia. The militia also had a navy consisting of two small gunboats.[7] In the 1850s, the Liberian president requested naval support from the British government to transport Liberian troops to the Gallinas territory to punish Liberians there who persisted in slave trafficking.[8]

text: On February 6, 1908, the militia was established on a permanent basis as the 500-strong Liberian Frontier Force (LFF). The LFF's original mission was "to patrol the border in the Hinterland [against British and French territorial ambitions] and to prevent disorders."[9] The LFF was initially placed under the command of a British major, who was quickly replaced after he complained the Force was not being properly paid.[10]

text: In 1912, the United States established military ties with Liberia by sending some five black American officers to help reorganize the force.[11] The LFF in its early years was frequently recruited by inducing men from the interior forcibly. When dispatched to the interior to quell tribal unrest, units often lived off the areas that they were pacifying, as a form of communal punishment. The Force's officers were drawn from either the coastal aristocracy or tribal elites.[11][12]

text: World Wars[edit]

text: Liberia joined the Allies in both World War I and World War II. The only troops dispatched overseas were a few individuals to France during World War I,[13] and Liberian volunteers under the command of the United States during World War II. During World War II, U.S. involvement in the country increased greatly. To guarantee a steady supply of rubber from the world's largest rubber plantation, operated at Harbel by the Firestone Company since 1926, the US government built roads throughout the country, created an international airport (known as Robertsfield), and transformed the capital by building a deep water port (the Freeport of Monrovia). During the war, funding provided by the United States allowed an increase in the Force's strength to around 1,500.[14] The armed forces came to rely almost exclusively on American assistance in terms of training, with non-US training "tend[ing] to be brief and uninspired [with little] accomplished other than some desultory close-order drill."[15]

text: As a result of American arms sales, by the 1920s Liberian forces were equipped with the American Krag and Peabody rifles, as well as German Mausers.[16]

text: U.S. forces also established an officer candidate school during the later part of the war, using instructors selected from the American troops in the country. The school conducted two courses and graduated nearly 300 new officers. Just under twenty years later in 1964, the group still made up over 50% of the officer corps of the AFL.[15]

text: From 1945 to 1964, the officers appointed were nearly all college graduates.[17] From 1951, there was a US military mission based in Liberia to assist in training the AFL. A Reserve Officers' Training Corps was established in 1956 with units at the University of Liberia in Monrovia and the Booker Washington Institute in Kakata. By 1978 the program had been redesignated the Army Student Training Program (ASTP) and had a total of 46 students at the University of Liberia, the Booker Washington Institute, and three smaller institutions.[18] However it was not until the late 1960s that the Tubman Military Academy was established in Todee District, upper Montserrado County, as an officer training facility.[17]

text: The LFF was renamed as the Armed Forces of Liberia under the Amended National Defense Law of 1956,[19] though other sources say 1962,[20] which appears to have been the date the land force became the Liberian National Guard.[21] From this period, Liberia's armed forces consisted of the Liberian National Guard, the Liberian Militia, whose ostensible structure is depicted below, and the Liberian Coast Guard. Until 1980, by law every able-bodied male between the ages of 16 and 45 years was to serve in the militia, though this stipulation was not enforced.[22]

text: In 1957, Armed Forces Day was designated.[23] Speaking in 2012, the Jonathan B. B. Hart, the Bishop of the Espicopal Church of Liberia recalled that on Jan 26, 1957, the Liberian Legislature set aside Armed Forces Day as Feb 11, 1957, "the day we remembered the mutiny that was started in 1909." The bishop said that in 1909, "the army was put together under the name Frontier Force and one year after, it was established that it should be called the Liberian Frontier Force but with a foreign commander. He recalled how the Sierra Leoneans were sent to Liberia to take over the army by the British government because it had given Liberia a loan." .. "The Sierra Leonean commanders took orders from the British government and not the President of Liberia, then Arthur Barclay. When they began to misbehave, the army was turned over to a Liberian who refused. It was during that time that some soldiers took to the streets in demand of salary arrears, so soldiers getting in the streets.. in demand of salary is not new."[24]

text: At the start of the 1960s, Liberia dispatched troops, including a movement control unit, to support ONUC during the Congo Crisis, and were airlifted into the Congo by the United States Air Force.[25] The Liberian troops were initially in Équateur province.[26][27] In 1961, during their first combat action in country, 300 Liberian troops repelled an attack by 5,000 Baluba tribesmen and their European officers.[28]

text: The National Guard was not a high status force: "It was a skeleton brigade of soldiers who were predominantly from the lower economic and social stratum of society. They were poorly paid, and had less than decent facilities for accommodation and care."[19] Despite this, a Liberian company, designated the Reinforced Security Company, was contributed to the United Nations Operation in the Congo in the early 1960s. Six rotations were made. The 1964 US Army Area Handbook described the company's actions as "...After a poor start, the performance of the contingent improved steadily; the last company, which returned home in May 1963, had performed creditably and, by its conduct and appearance, gave the impression of being a well-trained and disciplined military organization."[29]

text: Liebenow writes that the head of the National Guard was arrested, along with others, in February 1963, to forestall an alleged coup, and that Tubman had announced that following the labour strikes of 1966, a foreign power had attempted to bribe army officers to stage a coup.[30] In addition, Albert T. White, Commanding Officer of the LNG, was 'rusticated' by Tubman to become the Superindendent of Grand Gedeh in 1966, though he was later 'rehabilitated'.[31]

text: In 1964 the US Army Area Handbook described the National Guard as 3,000 strong with a headquarters company, the Executive Mansion Guard Battalion in Monrovia, three infantry battalions and one engineer battalion (which was newly formed at Camp Naama in 1962 and only had one company organized).[32] The three infantry battalions were the 1st Infantry Battalion, at Camp Schiefflin, situated on the airport road between Monrovia and Roberts International Airport, the 2nd Infantry Battalion, HQ at Barclay Training Center (BTC), Monrovia, and the 3rd Infantry Battalion, HQ at Baworobo, Maryland County.[33]

text: By 1978, the LNG Brigade had been established and the Brigade was described as comprising a Headquarters and Headquarters Company at the Barclay Training Center, Monrovia, the Executive Mansion Guard Battalion on Capitol Hill, Monrovia, the Engineer Battalion and the First Field Artillery Battalion (both at Camp Jackson, Naama) two tactical combat battalions (the First Infantry Battalion, at Schiefflin and the Second Infantry Battalion which in the intervening period had moved from the BTC to Camp Tolbert, Todee) and three non-tactical battalions, tasked with providing guard services to government officials, tax collection, and 'other non-military duties'.[34]

text: The Third Infantry Battalion covered Montserrado, Grand Cape Mount, and Grand Bassa counties from BTC. The Fourth Infantry Battalion covered Grand Gedeh, Sinoe County and Maryland counties from Camp Whisnant, Zwedru. The Fifth Infantry Battalion was at Gbarnga.[34]

text: Other field units of the brigade were the Armoured Unit, at Camp Ram Rod, Paynesward City (possibly Paynesville), Monrovia), and the Bella Yella Special Detachment, Camp Bella Yella, Lofa. The Service Support Battalion was located at BTC, and comprised the Medical Company, the Brigade Band, the Brigade Special Unit (a parade unit) and the Military Police Unit. Also at BTC was the Logistical Command, consisting of a depot, arsenal (whose location had been declared unsafe), the AFL Quartermaster Corps, and the AFL Transportation Company. Strength was reported to be 4,822 in 1978.[34]

text:
The Liberian Militia
Organization of the Liberian Militia, according to the National Defense Law 1956[35]
Two Divisional Headquarters

First Brigade

First Regiment
Fifth Regiment
Sixth Regiment
Tenth Regiment

Third Brigade

Fourth Regiment
Eighth Regiment
Ninth Regiment
Fifteenth Regiment
Sixth Regiment

Second Brigade

Second Regiment
Third Regiment
Eleventh Regiment
Fourteenth Regiment

Fourth Brigade

Seventh Regiment
Thirteenth Regiment
Sixteenth Regiment
Seventeenth Regiment

tag: div

text: While militia service was compulsory by law for all eligible males, the law was only enforced in a lax manner. From the mid-1960s, and in its later years, members of the militia met only quarterly for sparsely attended drill practice. Estimates of men enrolled over the years vary. The 1964 US Army Area Handbook said that "some 20,000 men are estimated to be enrolled."[36] The IISS estimated militia numbers at 5,000 in 1967 and 6,000 in 1970.[37]

text: By the early 1970s the militia reported a strength of some 4,000 poorly trained and ill-equipped men. The 1978 Annual Report of the Liberian Ministry of National Defense said that "The various militia regiments, in accordance with the law, held quarterly parades. ...Furthermore, the entire Regiments were out in full strength during burial occasions."[38] By the time it was disbanded in 1980, the militia was considered to be completely ineffective as a military force.[39]

text: The armed forces' third arm, the Liberian National Coast Guard, was established in 1959.[40] Throughout the Tubman period the coastguard was little more than a few sometimes unserviceable patrol craft manned by ill-trained personnel, though its training improved in the 1980s to the point where it was considered the best trained of the armed services.[40]

text: From 1952 onwards, Chiefs of Staff of the AFL included Major General Alexander Harper (1952–54), Lieutenant General Abraham Jackson (1954–60), Albert T. White (1964–65), Lieutenant General George T. Washington (late 1960s), Lieutenant General Henry Johnson (1970–74), Lieutenant General Franklin Smith, and Lieutenant General Henry Dubar (1980–1990).[41]

text: When William Tolbert replaced the long-serving William Tubman as President in 1971, he retired more than 400 aging soldiers.[42] Sawyer comments that "retired soldiers were replaced by young recruits from urban areas, many of whom were then poorly trained at the Tubman Military Academy. This development dramatically changed the character of the military in Liberia." (Samuel Doe was among this group.) Amos Sawyer also comments that "recruitment of such individuals for the military was part of Tolbert's efforts to replace aging, illiterate soldiers with younger, literate men who were capable of absorbing technical and professional training."[43]

text: Doe regime (1980–1990)[edit]

text: The AFL became involved in politics when seventeen soldiers launched a coup on April 12, 1980. The group was made up of Master Sergeant Samuel Doe, two staff sergeants, four sergeants, eight corporals, and two privates.[44] They found President Tolbert sleeping in his office in the Executive Mansion and there they killed him. While then-Sergeant Thomas Quiwonkpa led the plotters, it was the group led by Samuel Doe that found Tolbert in his office, and it was Doe, as a master sergeant the highest ranking of the group, who went on the radio the next day to announce the overthrow of the long-entrenched True Whig Party government.[45]

text: Doe became Head of State and co-chair of the new People's Redemption Council government. Quiwonkpa became commander of the army and the other co-chair of the PRC. (In the aftermath of the coup, the title of LNG Brigade commanding general was confusingly changed to commanding general of the AFL, reporting to the chief of staff, and it was this position that Quiwonkpa inherited.)[46]

text: Henry Dubar (who had helped recruit Doe personally years before) was promoted in one leap from captain to lieutenant general as Chief of Staff. From 1980 onward, Doe's systematic promotion of ethnic Krahn to sensitive posts in the government and military, began to drive deepening divisions within the AFL, among others with Quiwonkpa's Gio tribe, and to hamper morale.[46]

text: "... Military discipline was an early casualty of the coup. The revolt had been an enlisted men's affair, and one of the first instructions broadcast over the radio had ordered soldiers not to obey their officers. Over four years later, according to observers, the reluctance of most officers to impose discipline had combined with the unwillingness of more than a few enlisted men to accept it."[40]

text: The launch of Doe's coup meant that Major William Jarbo, another soldier with political ambitions who was said to have excellent connections to U.S. security officials, had had his takeover plans forestalled. He tried to escape abroad but was hunted down and killed by the new government.[45] The junta started to split in 1983, with Doe telling Quiwonkpa that he was planning to move Quiwonkpa from command of the army to a position as secretary-general of the People's Redemption Council. Unhappy with this proposed change, Quiwonkpa fled into exile in late 1983, along with his aide-de-camp Prince Johnson.[47]

text: In 1984 the AFL included the Liberian National Guard (LNG) Brigade and related units (6,300 men), and the Liberian National Coast Guard (about 450 men). The brigade, formed between 1964 and 1978, was based at the Barclay Training Center (BTC) in Monrovia, and was composed of six infantry battalions, a military engineer battalion (which circa 1974 under the command of Colonel Robert M. Blamo completed an airstrip at Belefania Town),[48] a field artillery battalion (the First Field Artillery Battalion, reportedly at Camp Naama in Bong County) and a support battalion.[40]

text: Three of the infantry units—the First Infantry Battalion, stationed at Camp Schieffelin, the Second Infantry Battalion at Camp Todee in northern Montserrado County, and the Sixth Infantry Battalion at Bomi Hills—were tactical elements designed to operate against hostile forces. The other battalions, the Third Infantry Battalion based at the Barclay Training Centre in Monrovia, the Fourth Infantry Battalion at Zwedru in Grand Gedeh County, and the Fifth Infantry Battalion at Gbarnga in Bong County served mostly as providers of personnel for non-military duties. Soldiers in these units were used extensively as policemen, customs and immigration officials, and as tax collectors.[40]

text: Attempted coup (1985)[edit]

text: In the aftermath of the rigged elections of 1985, which Doe manipulated to solidify his power, Quiwonkpa returned from his U.S. exile to enter Liberia from Sierra Leone. On November 12, 1985 he entered Monrovia with a group of dissident soldiers, took over the national Liberia Broadcasting System radio station and announced that the 'National Patriotic Forces of Liberia' had seized power.[49] Adekeye says that Quiwonkpa erred in 'fail[ing] to establish control over the country's communications system and resisted a frontal attack on the Executive Mansion.'[50]

text: These mistakes allowed Doe the time to rally the Krahn-dominated Executive Mansion Guard and 1st Infantry Battalion from Camp Schiefflin to reestablished control. Quiwonkpa was captured, killed, and mutilated, his body being dismembered and parts eaten. In the aftermath of the attempted coup, purges took place in Monrovia and in Nimba County, Quiwonkpa's home, against those who had rejoiced after the coup announcement. As many as 1,500 people may have been killed. The AFL was purged of Gio soldiers.

text: Under Samuel Doe the Coast Guard was retitled the Liberian Navy in 1986 through the passage of The Liberian Navy Act of 1986.[51] The Aviation Unit was founded in 1970 with the delivery of three Cessna U-17C light aircraft. An Aviation Unit aircraft crashed at Spriggs-Payne in 1984.[52] In 1985 it operated three fixed-wing aircraft from Spriggs Payne Airport in Monrovia, including Cessna 172s.[53] Their duties included reconnaissance and transport of light cargo and VIPs.[40] The Aviation Unit was expanded in the 1980s with the delivery of more Cessna aircraft: three 172s, a 206, 207 and two single engined turboprop 208s.

text: The Liberian Air Force was established from the Aviation Unit by an Act of Legislature on August 12, 1987.[54] Its statutory responsibilities were to: protect and defend the air space of the Republic of Liberia; protect lives and properties; provide air mobility for military and civil personnel; assist in search and rescue operations; undertake emergency operations; conduct reconnaissance patrols; participate in joint military operations and perform other duties as may be designated by the Ministry of Defense.[54] The LAF was to be headed by a colonel in his capacity as Assistant Chief of Defense Staff for the Air Force and was mandated to do the following: to train personnel and develop doctrine; advise the Chief of Staff of the AFL on matters relating to the Air Force.[54] In 1989 two refurbished DHC-4 Caribou, a single Piper Aztec light twin and three IAI Arava STOL twins were delivered.

text: First Liberian Civil War (1989–1997)[edit]

text: Charles Taylor invaded the country at Butuo in Nimba County on Christmas Eve 1989 with a force of around 150 men, initiating the First Liberian Civil War. Doe responded by sending two AFL battalions to Nimba in December 1989 – January 1990,[55] under then-Colonel Hezekiah Bowen.[56] The Liberian government forces assumed that most of the Mano and Gio peoples in the Nimba region were supporting the rebels. They thus acted in a very brutal and scorched-earth fashion which quickly alienated the local people. Taylor's support rose rapidly, as the Mano and Gio flocked to his National Patriotic Front of Liberia seeking revenge. Many government soldiers deserted, some to join the NPFL. The inability of the AFL to make any headway was one of the reasons why Doe changed his field commander in the area five times in the first six months of the war.[57]

text: Field commanders apparently included Brigadier General Edward Smith.[1] By May 1990 the AFL had been forced back to Gbarnga, still under the control of Bowen's troops, but they lost the town to a NPFL assault by the end of May 1990, at which time the NPFL also captured Buchanan on the coast.[58] The NPFL had now gathered an estimated 10,000 fighters while the AFL, splintering, could only summon 2,000.[59]

text: The revolt reached Monrovia by July 1990, and General Dubar left the country for exile in the United States.[60] In place of Dubar, Brigadier General Charles Julu, former commander of the Executive Mansion Guard Battalion, was appointed Chief of Staff. Two Liberian Coast Guard vessels were sunk in the battles for the city.[61] The NPFL had been distributing weapons to Gio civilians after it arrived in Nimba, where many were very interested in taking their revenge on the government after Doe had punished Nimba country for its support of Quiwonkpa in 1983 and 1985.[57]

text: By July 1990 the government began to distribute weapons to civilians in turn, to Krahn and Mandingo who wished to protect themselves. These hastily enlisted civilians became known as '1990 soldiers.' A '1990 soldier' which the President had personally picked, Tailey Yonbu, led a massacre of refugees, mostly Gio and Mandingo civilians, on the night of July 29/30, 1990 at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Sinkor, Monrovia. Some 600 were killed.[62] Because of the previous ethnic purges carried out by Doe's forces, the conflict took on characteristics of an ethnic pogrom.[57]

text: In August 1990 the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) despatched a peacekeeping force, ECOMOG, to Liberia. The force arrived at the Freeport of Monrovia on August 24, 1990, landing from Nigerian and Ghanaian vessels. By the time ECOMOG arrived, Prince Johnson's INPFL and Taylor's NPFL were fighting on the outside bounds of the port.[63] A series of peacemaking conferences in regional capitals followed. There were meetings in Bamako in November 1990, Lome in January 1991, and Yamoussoukro in June–October 1991. The first seven peace conferences, including the Yamoussoukro I-IV processes and the Carter Center negotiation leading to the Cotonou Accords, failed due to lack of agreement between the warring factions. The NPFL launched an assault on Monrovia in 1992, which they named 'Operation Octopus.' The civil war lasted until the Abuja Accords of August 1996.

text: The AFL was confined to an enclave around the capital during the conflict, and did not play a significant part in the fighting. Elections in July 1997 finally brought Taylor to power. Under the accords, which led to a break in fighting in 1996 and the Liberian general election, 1997, ECOMOG was to retrain a new national army based on fair ethnic and geographical representation.[64] Yet Taylor denied ECOMOG any role in the restructuring of the AFL, and the force eventually left Liberia by the end of 1998.[65]

text: During the 1990–99 period, Chiefs of Staff included Lieutenant Colonel Davis S. Brapoh, Lieutenant General Hezekiah Bowen (later Minister of Defense), Lieutenant General A.M.V. Doumuyah, and Lieutenant General Kalilu Abe Kromah, appointed during the interim rule of the Council of State in 1996,[66] who was chief of staff from May 1996 to April 1997. Following Kromah, Lieutenant General Prince C. Johnson was appointed, who died in October 1999 following a car accident.[41]

text: Taylor regime (1997–2003)[edit]

text: Shortly after the induction of Taylor as elected president of Liberia in August 1997, the Ministry of National Defense determined that the strength of the AFL had risen during the war from 6,500 to 14,981 service members. To begin demobilization, the AFL Chief of Staff published Special Orders No. 1 on January 1, 1998, demobilizing and retiring 2,250 personnel. The demobilization process was delayed and badly managed, and only on April 22, 1998 did payments began to be issued to the demobilizing personnel, without prior explanation of what exactly the payments represented.[67]

text: Demonstrations and protests by the demobilized personnel eventually led to a riot in which three died on May 5, 1998. As a result, Taylor authorised the formation of a commission to submit recommendations on how the AFL should be reorganized. The commission, led by Blamoh Nelson, Director of the Cabinet, submitted its report on December 17, 1998, recommending a 6,000-strong armed forces (5,160 Army, 600 Navy, and 240 Air Force) but the proposal was never implemented.[68]

text: Instead Taylor ran down the Armed Forces, letting go 2,400–2,600 former personnel, many of whom were Krahn brought in by former President Doe, in December 1997 – January 1998,[69] and building up instead the Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU), the Special Operations Division of the Liberian National Police, and the Special Security Service. On November 19, 1999, Taylor named General Kpenkpah Konah as the new Chief of Staff of the AFL (where he would stay until 2006) and John Tarnue as head of the army.[70] Tarnue was later implicated in a land dispute in 1999, while acting as AFL commander.[71]

text: The International Crisis Group writes that the AFL was reduced practically to the point of non-existence by Fall 2001, by which time a total of 4,000 personnel had been retired.[72] The Second Liberian Civil War, originated in clashes in April 1999 but was not a major threat to Taylor until 2000–01. However, on the government side the AFL played only a minor role; irregular ex National Patriotic Front of Liberia militias backed by more privileged Taylor partisans such as the Anti-Terrorist Unit saw most of the fighting.[72]

text: As a result of the Civil War, all aircraft, equipment, materiel, and facilities belonging to the Liberian Air Force were badly damaged, rendering the force inoperable.[54] During the Civil War the Taylor government made a variety of different air support arrangements; a seemingly inoperable Mil Mi-2 and Mil Mi-8, one in Anti-Terrorist Unit markings, could be seen at Spriggs Payne Airport in central Monrovia in mid-2005, apparently a hangover from the war. Meanwhile, during the Taylor era, the Navy consisted of a couple of small patrol craft. However, on shore, both late 1990s and 2005 sources indicate the Navy included the 2nd Naval District, Buchanan, the 3rd Naval District, Greenville, and the 4th Naval District, Harper.[73]

text: Rebuilding the AFL[edit]

text: Part 4 (Articles VI and VII) of the August 2003 Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which ended the Second Liberian Civil War addressed security sector reform.[74] It declared that future recruits for the new AFL would be screened for their fitness for service as well as prior human rights violations, that the new force would be ethnically balanced and without political bias, and that the new force's mission would be to defend national sovereignty and "in extremis" respond to natural disasters.[74]

text: By March 1, 2005, over a year after the war ended, the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) had disarmed and demobilized 103,018 people[75] who claimed to have fought for former president Charles Taylor or the two rebel groups, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) or the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL). That year most former AFL elements were concentrated at Camp Schiefflin.[64] The previous AFL personnel, including those of the Navy and Air Force, were slowly retired with pensions obtained by the MND and international partners from a number of international donors.[76]

text: In 2005, the United States provided funding for DynCorp International and Pacific Architects & Engineers, private military contractors, to train a new 4,000-man Liberian military.[77] DynCorp was made responsible for individual training and PA&E unit training. In June–July 2005 the projected force strength was reduced to 2000 men. DynCorp and the U.S. Embassy scrutinized the personnel for the new armed forces thoroughly. Recruits had to pass a literacy test, an aptitude test, a drug test and an HIV test, and their names and faces were put on posters which are distributed to try to make sure none have a history of war crimes or other human rights violations.[78] A new batch of 500 screened personnel started to arrive at the Camp Ware base at VOA Careysburg, inland from Monrovia, for initial training in early November 2007,[79] joining 608 others who had graduated earlier.[80]

text: The Minister of Defense that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf appointed in early 2006, Brownie Samukai, had a good public reputation.[81]

text: There appears to be some lack of coordination, at least according to the Wall Street Journal, between the Ministry of National Defense and DynCorp, who is training the new army. The newspaper said in an August 2007 report:

text: Mr. Samukai also complains that he feels sidelined from the formation of an army that, as defense minister, he is supposed to oversee. Neither the State Department nor DynCorp will let him see the company's contract, for instance. And the U.S. insists that instead of talking directly to DynCorp managers, he go through Major Wyatt [chief of the Office of Defense Cooperation at the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia] on all matters related to the training.[82]

text: Whether well regarded or not, Samukai has been accused of misusing his power; there have been allegations that he has ordered soldiers to manhandle other senior Liberian government officials—the Comptroller General of the Ministry of Finance in August 2008.[83]

text: On January 11, 2008 a total 485 soldiers graduated from Initial Entry Training class 08-01. The addition of this third class of soldiers, consisting of 468 men and 17 women, raised the total strength of the AFL from 639 to 1,124.[84] As the new Liberian force developed, UNMIL started winding down its initially 15,000 strong peacekeeping mission; by 2008 the force had been reduced to 11,000.[85]

text: In the interim buildup period, President Johnson-Sirleaf decided that a Nigerian officer would act as the Command Officer-In-Charge of the new armed forces. Major General Suraj Alao Abdurrahman succeeded the previous incumbent, Lieutenant General Luka Yusuf, in early June 2007; Lieutenant General Yusuf had been posted home to Nigeria to become Chief of Army Staff.[86]

text: Luka had succeeded the previous Liberian Chief of Staff, Kpenkpa Y. Konah, in 2006. In mid-July 2008, five reinstated AFL officers returned from the Nigerian Armed Forces Command and Staff College after training there. These officers include Lt Cols. Sekou S. Sheriff, Boakai B. Kamara, Aaron T. Johnson, Daniel K. Moore and Major Andrew J. Wleh.[87] Subsequently, Aaron T. Johnson was promoted to colonel and confirmed by the Liberian Senate as Deputy Chief of Staff of the AFL, immediately subordinate to General Abdurrahman.[88] A number of the current senior AFL officers have been drawn from the ranks of the previous 1993–94 Interim Government of National Unity paramilitary police force, the 'Black Berets.'[89]

text: Facility reconstruction has not been limited to VOA/Camp Ware and Schiefflin/EBK. The Chinese Government offered in 2006 to rebuild Camp Tubman in Gbarnga,[90] and the new facility was opened in April 2009. There is also a plan to rebuild Camp Todee in Todee District, upper Montserrado.[91] The Barclay Training Center (BTC) was handed back to the Government of Liberia on July 31, 2009 at a ceremony attended by the Minister for National Defense and the United States Ambassador after four years of management by DynCorp.[92]

text: In October 2009 a State Partnership Program relationship was begun between the AFL and the U.S. state of Michigan's Michigan National Guard.[93] Of the other large number of security agencies, plans exist as of mid-2008 at least to dissolve the Ministry of National Security, the National Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Agency. The 2009–2010 budget appears to indicate however that this consolidation has not taken place.

text: In 2013, the AFL deployed a platoon as part of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, marking the first time that the AFL had operated abroad since the United Nations Operation in the Congo in the early 1960s.[94] Initially under Nigerian command, the AFL platoon came under Togo Contingent Command when Nigeria withdrew from the mission. Despite some initial logistical problems the platoon performed admirably, performing patrols and VIP escort duties. The national deployment has now seen a number of rotations:

text:
Platoon 1 (Capt.? Nathaniel Waka) – 45 pers; June 23, 2013 to June 26, 2014[95]
Platoon 2 (Capt. Ernest A. Appleton) – June 26, 2014 to June 25, 2015[95][96]
Platoon 3 (Capt. Stephen T. Powo) – June 25, 2015 to September 2, 2016[97][98]
Platoon 4 (Capt. Forkpah Tarnue) – September 2, 2016 to ...[98]

text: From February 2017 the Mali deployment was increased to a 75 strong 'company'.[99]

text: May 3, 2017, saw the first Liberian soldier killed on deployment with the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali. Corporal Sheriff Ousmane was killed when a rebel group fired mortars into a UN base near Timbuktu.[100] Seven other Liberians were wounded in the bombardment, three seriously so, together with a Swedish peacekeeper.[101]

text: Organization[edit]

text: The Liberian ground forces currently consist of two infantry battalions and supporting units. The 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Brigade, was formed on August 29, 2008, at the Barclay Training Center in Monrovia,[102] and the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Brigade in December that year. Both battalions are currently based at the former Camp Schiefflin, which has now been renamed the Edward Binyah Kesselly Barracks, often known simply as 'EBK Barracks.'[103]

text: As a result of the concentration of troops at EBK, the camp is overcrowded, and disturbances among the soldiers have occurred.[104] As of mid-2009, the Ministry of Defense is attempting to alleviate the problem by relocating some personnel to Camp Tubman in Gbarnga.[105]

text: The two battalions and supporting units went through training and preparation for an assessment exercise, a modified US Army Readiness Training Evaluation Program (ARTEP),[106] which was held in late 2009. When declared operational, the 23rd Infantry Brigade was planned to be commanded by a colonel with a headquarters of 113 personnel. Supporting units were to include a band platoon (40 members), engineer company (220 strong), Brigade Training Unit (162 strong, now retitled the Armed Forces Training Command, located at Camp Ware under Major Wleh),[107] and a military police company (105 strong).[108] The force operates according to slightly modified United States Army practices, and uses U.S. doctrine.[108]

text: "..The first battalion started the United States Army Training and Evaluation Programme, which it will complete in September [2009], while the second battalion will complete the programme in December [2009]. At that time, the United States contractors currently training and equipping the force will hand over to the Ministry of National Defense, which will assume responsibility for training and standing up the new army. The United States has indicated that it plans to assign as many as 60 United States serving military personnel to continue mentoring the Armed Forces of Liberia, beginning in January 2010."[109]

text: As of December 2010, a Logistics Command is being established within the AFL, taking the same name as a pre-Civil War AFL formation.[110]

text: Colonel Eric Wayma Dennis was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff on 11 February 2013 and served in that position until his death, of natural causes, on 8 August 2016.[111] Dennis was a pre-Civil War officer who rejoined in 2006 and re-rose to the rank of colonel. Dennis replaced Col. Daniel Moore as Deputy Chief of Staff.[112] Lt. Col. Prince Charles Johnson III was promoted to Brig. Gen. and appointed Deputy Chief of Staff on 14 November 2016.[113]

text: The Coast Guard was reactivated on the 53rd Armed Forces Day on February 11, 2010, with an initial strength of 40 personnel who had been trained in the United States.[114] A United States Coast Guard officer is now serving at the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia supporting efforts to reestablish the Liberian Coast Guard.[115]

text: A detachment from SeaBee Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 7, based at Naval Station Rota, Spain, constructed a United States Africa Command-funded boat ramp and concrete perimeter wall for the Coast Guard, which was handed over in December 2010.[116] In February 2011, the United States turned over two donated USCG Defender class boats to the Coast Guard.[117]

text: The Liberian Air Force was formally dissolved in 2005 as part of the armed forces demobilization programme, though it had effectively ceased to exist during the civil war. For many years only the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) operated military aircraft in Liberia - Mi-8 transport and Mi-24 attack helicopters from Roberts International Airport with several subsidiary locations.[109] Ahead of its anticipated closure of UNMIL operations in March 2018, these aircraft are leaving the country.

text: The ranks and insignia of the Armed Forces of Liberia are based on those of the United States Department of Defense, and are laid out in the Liberian Defense Act of 2008.[4]


document_title: List of alcohol laws of the United States

question_text: when do stores stop selling alcohol in virginia

root

text: Table[edit]

text: Alabama–Hawaii[edit]

text:
State
Alcoholic beverage control state
Alcohol sale hours
Grocery store sales
Age
Notes

Beer
Wine
Distilled spirits
On-premises
Off-premises
Beer
Wine
Distilled spirits
Purchasing
Consumption

Alabama
Yes
Prohibited between midnight until noon on Sundays in some counties. Private clubs, which require a membership fee and a membership card, have no day or time restrictions.
Yes
No
21
21 No exceptions to the law
13.9% ABV cap on beer
Beer containers may not exceed 25.4 ounces (0.75 l)
ABV > 14.9% wine sold in state stores
Alcohol may be served 24 hours a day unless restricted by local ordinances. Twenty-six of Alabama's 67 counties do not allow the sale of alcohol. However, possession and consumption remain legal within those 26 counties. Of the 26 "dry" counties, 23 have at least one "wet" city; these are considered "moist" dry counties. Within those 23 counties there are 43 wet cities. State law allows any city with a population greater than 1,000 located within a dry county to "go wet" if a referendum is passed by 50% of voters. State retains monopoly over wholesaling of distilled spirits only.
Distilled spirits (liquor) are purchasable in either state-owned retail liquor stores, known as ABC Stores, or privately-owned retail liquor stores. Privately-owned retail liquor stores tend to be open on Sundays, public (federal & state) holidays, and later hours than state-owned liquor stores.

Alaska
No
8 a.m. – 5 a.m.,[10] except election days (liquor stores may not open until polls close)
No (although many grocery stores have separate areas that sell all forms of alcoholic beverages and many bars sell packaged liquor as well)
21
21 Exception: Underage drinking allowed for medical purposes, and on private non-alcohol selling premises with parental consent [11]
Most communities have more restrictive laws, ranging from restrictions on operating hours to bans on sale and possession.[12] Sellers/servers may not, for any reason, give a person alcohol for free or sell it for less than its cost. Sellers/servers may drink while on duty, but no intoxicated person may remain on the premises, so an impaired server could be arrested.[10]

Arizona
No
2 a.m. – 6 a.m. seven days a week—no election day nor holiday restrictions [13]
Yes
21
21 Exception: Underage drinking allowed for religious[14] and medical purposes[15]
Sales of any type of alcohol are legal at any store that has an off-premises liquor license, including but not limited to convenience stores and grocery stores. Bars may sell closed containers of alcohol for consumption off the premises. Drive-through liquor stores are allowed. Everclear Grain Alcohol Proof 190 (95% alcohol) is legal. A large percentage of the land area of Arizona is in Indian reservations, many of which have liquor laws considerably more restrictive than state law, up to and including total prohibition. "Beer busts" (all the beer/liquor one can drink for a set price) in bars are illegal. Persons 19 years of age or older may work in bars and liquor stores serving and selling alcohol. Patrons may not purchase for on premises consumption more than 40 ounces of beer, 1 liter of wine or 4 ounces of distilled spirits at one time.[16] DUI penalties are some of the most severe in the nation. A person convicted of a DUI (even first offense) must have an interlock installed in his car for one year. Arizona has an 'Impaired to the Slightest Degree' law that can convict a person even if his BAC is less than .08%.

Arkansas
No
Sale prohibited Sundays, Mondays between 12:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m., or on any other days between the hours of 1:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. The governing body of any city or town may fix later closing hours for the permitted premises of a hotel or restaurant which in no event shall be later than two (2) hours after midnight on Saturday night.[17]
Yes
No
21
21 No exceptions to the law
Has numerous dry counties and other dry areas, but private clubs can serve even in dry areas.
Alcohol sales are generally prohibited on Sundays, but exceptions can be made through local option (usually for restaurants and private clubs).
No sales on Christmas Day.

California
No
6 a.m. – 2 a.m.
Yes
21
21 Exception: A minor will not be penalized for consuming alcohol if discovered or reported through a medical emergency.[18]
Relatively unrestricted; beer, wine and liquor available at grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations, and warehouse clubs. No statewide holiday restrictions.
Motor vehicles entering from Mexico may only import 1 liter of alcohol (duty-free). Sale or distribution of alcoholic beverages higher than 60% ABV is illegal (B&P 23403).[19]
You may serve alcohol if you are at least 21 years of age.
City and county governments can set different sale hours.
18-, 19- and 20-year-old wine and beer production students can taste—but not consume—what they are making and studying.[20]

Colorado
No
7 a.m. – 2 a.m.
Beer, wine, and liquor: 8 a.m. – midnight
3.2 beer: 5 a.m.-midnight

3.2 only*
No*
21
21 Exception: Underage consumption allowed on private non-alcohol selling premises with parental consent, for religious, medical, and educational purposes.[21]
Spirituous, vinous & malt liquor available in liquor stores and liquor-licensed drug stores only.
Liquor stores closed on Christmas Day. Sunday sales restriction lifted on July 1, 2008. Liquor stores and liquor-licensed drug stores may have only one location, while 3.2% beer may be sold in gas stations, supermarkets, and convenience stores. Appropriately licensed businesses may also sell 3.2% beer for both on and off-premises consumption. A small number of grocery stores are licensed as drug stores and sell full strength beer, wine, and spirits. As an example, a chain grocery store that has pharmacy services at most or all locations may elect a single location in the chain as the licensed establishment to sell beer, wine, and spirits.

Connecticut
No
9 a.m. – 1 a.m. (Mon.–Thurs.)
9 a.m. – 2 a.m. (Fri.–Sat.)
11 a.m. – 1 a.m. (Sun.)
8 a.m. – 10 p.m. (Mon.–Sat.) 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. (Sun.)
Yes
No
21 Exception: No explicit age if a present legal guardian is 21 or older[22]
21 Exception: Underage consumption is allowed on private non alcohol selling premises with parental consent, for medical and religious puroposes, and on alcohol selling premises with parental consent.[22]
Sunday off-premises sales allowed as of May 20, 2012;[23][24] Sunday on-premises sales subject to local ordinances.
Beer can be purchased at grocery/convenience stores. Spirits and wine can be purchased only at liquor stores.
No off-premises alcohol sales on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.
Open container law applies only to drivers, not passengers.

Delaware
No
9 a.m. – 1 a.m.
9 a.m. – 1 a.m. (Mon.–Sat.)
noon–8 p.m. (Sun.) Municipalities with a population over 50,000 persons may impose stricter hours of sale by local ordinance.
No
21
21 Exception: A minor will not be penalized for if discovered consuming alcohol through a medical emergency. Underage drinking allowed on private non-alcohol selling premises with parental consent, for religious purposes.[25][26]
For off-premises consumption, alcohol may be purchased only in a liquor store, taproom, or a brew pub that has an off-premises license. Unless accompanied by a parent or guardian over 21, no person under 21 may enter a liquor store or taproom for any reason, even for the intent of purchasing only tobacco or lottery tickets. No sales of alcohol by liquor stores or taprooms are permitted during designated holidays including Thanksgiving, Easter or Christmas.[27]

District of Columbia
No
8 a.m. – 2 a.m. Sun.–Thu.,
8 a.m. – 3 a.m. Fri.–Sat.
[28]

Liquor Stores:
9 a.m. – midnight daily*
Grocery Stores:
9 a.m.-12 a.m. daily
[28]

Yes
No
21
21 Exception: A minor will not be penalized for if discovered consuming alcohol through a medical emergency.[29][30]
*Liquor stores can begin applying for licenses to open on Sunday as of January 16, 2013.[31]
No singles sold, but stores in some areas may apply for an exemption.[32]
Certain wards may be made dry by the decision of the local ANC, but as of 2005[update] none are
The day before a federal or district holiday, on-premises retailers may sell/serve from 8 a.m.-3 a.m. On New Yer's Eve, on-premises retailers may sell/serve until 4 a.m. on January 1.[28]

Florida
No
State law prohibits selling of alcohol between midnight and 7 a.m., unless the county chooses to change the operating hours later (FS 562.14(1)) ; such as for Sunday morning; Ormond Beach stays open until 7pm on Sundays. Miami-Dade County liquor stores may operate 24 hours a day.
Yes
No
21
21 Exception: 18 for educational purposes[33]
Sale, processing, or consumption of any liquor or spirit of greater than 153 proof is illegal. (FSS 565.07)
No retail sale of wine in containers larger than 1 gallon. FS 564.05 Supermarkets and other licensed business establishments may sell beer, low-alcohol liquors, and wine. Liquor must be sold in dedicated liquor stores which may be in a separate part of a grocery or a drug store. As of July 1, 2015, the restriction on 64 ounce refillable containers, or growlers, has been lifted and beer may be sold in quantities of 64 ounces, in addition to the previously legal 32 and 128 ounce sizes.

Georgia
No
Hours of sale determined by local jurisdiction. No alcohol sales on Christmas Day.
Yes
No
21
21 Exception: Underage drinking allowed on non-alcoholic premises with parental consent, and for religious and medical purposes.[34]
14% ABV cap on beer.
Sunday off-premises sales from 12:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. allowed only by local referendum.[35]
In general, one may not be drunk in public. Though there is no state law prohibiting drinking in public, most municipal corporations and political subdivisions limit the possession of open containers of alcohol to private property, with notable exceptions being Savannah and Roswell. A charge of public drunkenness is only warranted when one is drunk in public and his acts are either loud or disorderly.

Hawaii
No
Bars and restaurants stop serving alcohol at 2 a.m., but some hold a special ‘cabaret license’ that allows them to continue serving alcohol until 4 a.m.[36]
6 a.m. to 12 a.m. Within Honolulu County
6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Within Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii counties
Yes
21
21 Exception: Underage consumption allowed for religious purposes[37]

tag: table

text: Idaho–Massachusetts[edit]

text:
State
Alcoholic beverage control state
Alcohol sale hours
Grocery Store Sales
Age
Notes

Beer
Wine
Distilled spirits
On-premises
Off-premises
Beer
Wine
Distilled Spirits
Purchasing
Consumption

Idaho
No
Yes
6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. in some counties

Yes
No

Alcoholic beverages exceeding 16% ABV can only be sold in Idaho State Liquor Dispensary stores, or contracted stores.

Illinois
No
Depending on local government; 24-hour bars are permitted in Cicero; a handful of 21- to 22-hour bars exist in Cook County, and the Metro East. In Rock Island County, many establishments sell alcohol 24 hours a day.

Yes

Opening/closing hours are up to the decision of counties or municipalities.

Indiana
No
7 a.m. – 3 a.m.
7 a.m. – 3 a.m.
Noon - 8 p.m. on Sunday.
Yes

Indiana prohibits the sales of cold beer by grocery stores or gas stations, but allows cold beer to be sold from liquor stores (IC 7.1-5-10-11).
Minors, including babies, are not allowed to enter a liquor store.
Indiana has a photo identification requirement for all off-premises transactions to anyone who is or reasonably appears to be less than forty (40) years of age. (See IC 7.1-5-10-23).
Public intoxication is a class B misdemeanor. (IC 7.1-5-1-3)

Iowa
No
Yes
6 a.m. – 2 a.m. Mon–Sat
8 a.m. – 2 a.m. Sun[38]
Yes

If a controlled substance is detected in a person’s system at or near the time they were operating a motor vehicle, they can be charged and potentially convicted of operating while intoxicated (OWI) even if they were not “impaired” by that substance.

Kansas
Yes
9 a.m. - 2 a.m. (in counties which allow on-premises sales)
9 a.m. - 11 p.m. (Mon–Sat) (in counties which allow off-premises sales)
noon - 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. (Sun) (in communities which allow Sunday off-premises sales)
3.2 only
No

Kansas's alcohol laws are among the strictest in the United States. Kansas prohibited all alcohol from 1881 to 1948, and continued to prohibit on-premises sales of alcohol from 1949 to 1987. Sunday sales only have been allowed since 2005. Today, 29 counties still do not permit the on-premises sale of alcohol. 59 counties require a business to receive at least 30% of revenue from food sales to allow on-premises sale of alcohol. Only 17 counties allow general on-premises sales. Not all communities which allow off-premises sales allow sales on Sunday. Sales are prohibited on Christmas and Easter. The only alcoholic beverage which grocery stores and gas stations may sell is beer with no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight. Other liquor sales only are allowed at state-licensed retail liquor stores. Kansas has comprehensive open container laws for public places and vehicles, public intoxication laws, and requirements for prospective on-premises or off-premises licensees.

Kentucky
No
6 a.m. to 4 a.m. on Monday through Saturday
1 p.m. to 4 a.m. on Sundays
Yes
No

Local ordinance may vote to permit Sunday sales at restaurants. Sales 2–4 a.m. only in Louisville. As of 2005 Sunday sales were allowed per state law, but may still be prohibited in some areas by local ordinance (as of early 2006, such a situation existed with smaller cities within Louisville Metro, though these cities have since changed local ordinances).
Alcohol sale restriction and wet/dry (both by drink and package) allowed by both county and city local option. Approximately 39 counties in the state (mostly eastern and southern counties) are dry, all alcohol sale and possession prohibited; 22 "moist" counties (with "wet" cities allowing package liquor sales in counties otherwise dry); 29 counties that are otherwise dry but have communities with local option that allow sales of liquor by the drink or under special exemptions allowing sales at wineries. Majority of wet counties are around major metropolitan areas (Louisville, Lexington, Covington, Bowling Green). Note: Beginning in 2013 Liquor by the drink and beer by the drink are available on Sundays in Louisville, KY beginning at 10:00 am. Bowling Green, KY recently began allowing Sunday sales in December 2013 for carry-out beer, wine, and liquor. Prohibition on liquor sales on Election Day was repealed effective June 24, 2013. Kentucky was one of only two states to still have Election Day prohibition, the other being South Carolina.

Louisiana
No
No state imposed restrictions on on-premises hours. "24 hour" bars are common in New Orleans and in Jefferson Parish. Some municipalities and parishes (including Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish) require on-premises service to stop at 2:00 am.
No statewide restrictions on hours of package sales.
Yes
21
Exceptions to state law include:[39]

For an established religious purpose;
When a person under twenty-one years of age is accompanied by a parent, spouse, or legal guardian twenty-one years of age or older;
For medical purposes when purchased as an over the counter medication, or when prescribed or administered by a licensed physician, pharmacist, dentist, nurse, hospital, or medical institution;
In a private residence, which shall include a residential dwelling and up to twenty contiguous acres, on which the dwelling is located, owned by the same person who owns the dwelling;
The sale, handling, transport, or service in dispensing of any alcoholic beverage pursuant to lawful ownership of an establishment or to lawful employment of a person under twenty-one years of age by a duly licensed manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer of beverage alcohol.

Packaged alcoholic beverages of any strength may be sold in supermarkets, drug stores, gas stations, and convenience stores. Local municipalities may not restrict this. As a result, dedicated "liquor stores" are mostly specialty stores in larger cities, and some supermarkets have large selections of liquors and wines, and compete on the basis of liquor prices and selection.
Alcohol can be consumed in the streets of New Orleans as long as it is in an "unbreakable container" (no glass) and may be taken from club to club if both establishments allow it. Otherwise, it depends on the locality. Most parishes other than Orleans Parish do not permit alcoholic beverages served on premises to be carried out. However, many parishes and municipalities permit consumption of packaged beverages (for example, cans of beer) on the street. Glass bottles on the streets are prohibited. One can enter most bars at 18 years of age but must be 21 years old to purchase or consume alcohol. Also, it is legal in the state of Louisiana for a legal parent or guardian to purchase alcoholic beverages for their underaged child.
Drive-thru frozen daiquiri stands are legal and common, but the police can arrest you for driving with an open container, if you have put the straw in the cup [40]

Maine
No
Yes
6 a.m. to 1 a.m. (Mon–Sun)

Yes [41]
21
21
ABV > Alcohol may not be purchased after 1 a.m. any day of the week, may not be purchased prior to 6 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and not prior to 9 a.m. on Sunday. Bars and restaurants may serve until 1:15 a.m. On New Year's Day alcohol may be sold one hour later in all establishments. When St. Patrick's Day falls on a Sunday, bars and restaurants may serve alcohol starting at 6 a.m that day.[42] Wholesaling through state-licensed monopoly.[43] Municipalities may prohibit the sale of alcohol by referendum; 56 towns have done so.[44][45]

Maryland
Variable by locality
Variable by locality
Variable by locality
Variable by locality

Baltimore County prohibits the sale on Sunday in some areas.
In the counties of Montgomery, Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester sale of alcoholic beverages are controlled directly by the county Liquor Control Boards, there are exceptions in Montgomery where some liquors are still sold in grocery store due to being grandfathered before the change of the law.
Garrett County prohibits the sale on Sunday except in some areas.
The sale of alcohol at grocery and convenience stores varies by county.
There are no dry counties, but some individual voting districts within counties restrict or prohibit alcohol on a local-option basis.

Massachusetts
No
8:00 a.m. – 2:00 a.m. by state law, although individual cities and towns may prohibit sales before 11:00 a.m. and after 11:00 p.m.[46] Not before 11:00 a.m. on Sunday.[47]
8:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m., or 8:00 a.m. – 11:30 p.m. on the day before a holiday.[48] Not before 10:00 am on Sunday.
Yes.[49][50]
21
21
As of January 2016, no individual, partnership, or corporation may have more than seven off-premises licences in the state, nor more than two in any city, nor more than one in any town. No individual, partnership, or corporation not resident or headquartered in Massachusetts may apply for a license, although one may devolve thereupon.[48]
As of 2012-10-29, a Massachusetts driver's license, Massachusetts Liquor ID card, RMV-issued Massachusetts non-driver ID card, passport (issued by the US or a US-recognized foreign entity), US-issued Passport Card, and military identification card are the only acceptable proofs of age under state law. Out of state or Canadian driver's licenses/ ID's and other forms of identification do not grant the establishment legal protection if accepted as proof of age (and many establishments will not accept out of state licenses for this reason).[51]
On-premises regulations: No discounts at specific times (i.e. no "Happy Hour" discounts) or for specific individuals, no fixed-price open bar or all-you-can-drink (except at private functions), no more than two drinks per individual at any one time, no pitchers for fewer than two people, no drinking contests, no drinks as prizes, no free drinks.[52]
Off-premises sale of alcohol is prohibited on the last Monday in May (Memorial Day), Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and the day after Christmas if Christmas falls on a Sunday.[47]
Sale of alcohol is prohibited during polling hours on election days (subject to local exceptions).[47]
"Malt beverages" defined as having not more than 12% alcohol by weight.[53]

text: Michigan–New Mexico[edit]

text:
State
Alcoholic beverage control state
Alcohol sale hours
Grocery Store Sales
Age
Notes

Beer
Wine
Distilled spirits
On-premises
Off-premises
Beer
Wine
Distilled Spirits
Purchasing
Consumption

Michigan
No
Yes
7 a.m. – 2 a.m. (Mon.–Sat.)
noon-2 a.m. (Sunday)*sales may begin at 7 a.m. with special license extension

7 a.m.-2 a.m. (Mon-Sat)
noon-2 a.m. (Sunday)*sales may begin at 7 a.m. with special license extension ,[54]

Yes
21
21
The Michigan Liquor Control Commission allows the sale of alcoholic beverages until 11:59 p.m. on December 24 and after 12:00 p.m. on December 25. On-premises sales are permitted on January 1 until 4:00 a.m. Local or county ordinance may restrict Sunday or Sunday morning sales. State does not operate retail outlets; maintains a monopoly over wholesaling of distilled spirits only.[55]

Minnesota
No (but see note)
8 a.m. – 2 a.m. seven days
8:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. (Mon–Sat);
11:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. (Sun)[56]

3.2% Only
No

Local or County ordinance prevails for hours of operation for off-sale licenses. Growler sales allowed until 10 p.m. 7 days a week. Certain municipalities may establish municipal liquor stores; they are permitted, but not required, to exclude privately owned stores.[57] Off-premises sales on Sundays became legal on July 1, 2017.[56]

Mississippi
No
Yes
Local authorities fix hours of alcohol sale

Yes
No

ABW > 5% wine and sparkling wine sold in state-contracted stores which are open from 10:00 am until 10:00 pm (Closed Sundays) statewide. Beer and light wine (ABW < 5%, ABV < ~6.3%) sold in convenience stores/supermarkets. Beer and light wine (ABW < 5%) may be consumed by persons age 18-20 with parental supervision. Governor Phil Bryant signed a bill permitting beer with 8% ABW/10% ABV on April 9, 2012. The bill went into effect on July 1, 2012.[58]

No sales on Christmas Day. No state open container laws. Complimentary alcohol all day and night in coastal casinos.
In most counties, alcohol cannot be sold on Sundays. There are many dry counties in which it is illegal to possess alcoholic beverages, though some cities within dry counties have voted in beer sales.

Missouri
No
Most establishments:
(Mon–Sat) 6:00am–1:30am
(Sunday) 9:00am–12:00pm
Special licenses in Kansas City and St. Louis:
(Daily) 6:00am–3:00am

(Mon–Sat) 6:00am–1:30am
(Sunday) 9:00am–12:00am
Sales permitted until 3:00 am in those Kansas City and St. Louis bars grandfathered into the ability to double as liquor stores.

Yes

One of the most alcohol-permissive states, perhaps only behind Nevada and Louisiana:

No open container law.[59]
No state public intoxication law.
Liquor control law[60] covers all beverages containing more than 0.5% alcohol, without further particularities based on percentage.[61]
Cities and counties are prohibited from banning off-premises alcohol sales.[62]
No dry jurisdictions.
State preemption of local alcohol laws which do not follow state law.
Certain bars in Kansas City and St. Louis grandfathered into the ability to double as liquor stores.
Special licenses available for bars and nightclubs which allow selling alcohol until 3:00am in Kansas City,[63] Jackson County,[64] North Kansas City,[64] St. Louis,[65] and St. Louis County.[66]
Grocery stores, drug stores, and even gas stations may sell liquor without limitation other than hours.[67]
Patrons allowed to take open containers out of bars in Kansas City's Power & Light District.[68]
Parents and guardians may furnish alcohol to their children.[69]
Missourians over 21 may manufacture up to 100 gallons of any liquor per year for personal use, without any further state limitation, state taxation, or state license.[70] (Obtaining a permit from the Federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and meeting other requirements under federal law probably still is required for private citizens to manufacture distilled alcohol - but not wine or beer - for personal use.[71][72][73][74][75])

Missouri law recognizes two types of alcoholic beverage: liquor, which is any beverage containing more than 0.5% alcohol except "non-intoxicating beer"; and "non-intoxicating beer,"[76] which is beer containing between 0.5% and 3.2% alcohol. Liquor laws[77] apply to all liquor, and special laws apply to "non-intoxicating beer."[76]

Montana
No
Yes
Closing 2am

Yes
No

ABV > 16% wine sold in state-contracted stores, ABV < 16% may be sold in grocery stores.

Nebraska
No
6 a.m. – 1 a.m. Legislation passed in 2010 allows for municipalities to extend on-premises sales to 2 a.m. with two-thirds approval of city or county councils.[78]
Yes

No on- or off-premises sales of spirits before noon on Sundays. All beer, wine, and champagne can be sold starting at 6 a.m.

Nevada
No
24 hours
Yes

There are few restrictions on the sale and consumption of alcohol in Nevada except for age. The maximum abv of alcohol sold is 80%.[79]
State law also renders public intoxication legal, and explicitly prohibits any local or state law from making it a public offence.[80] Alcohol purchase is only controlled in Panaca.[81]

New Hampshire
No
Yes
6 a.m. – 1 a.m.
6 a.m. – 11:45 p.m.
Yes
No

Liquor sold in state-run stores, many found at highway rest areas.
14% ABV cap on beer. State is wholesaler of wine. State taxes beer $0.30/gal at the wholesale level.

New Jersey
No
Each municipality can control hours by local ordinance. Most municipalities have a last call of 2 or 3 a.m. Atlantic City, Brigantine, Absecon, Elwood, Pomona, Smithville, Galloway, and Mullica (All in Atlantic County) serve 24 hours. There are some dry towns in the southern part of the state, including Ocean City.
9 a.m.-10 p.m. for liquor. Beer and wine can be sold at any time on-premise sales are permitted in that municipality. This causes most liquor stores to close at 10 PM, however some will stay open an hour later selling only beer and wine. Cities of the first class (e.g. Jersey City and Newark) are exempt from this law and may set their own hours for liquor sales.[82]
Rarely
21
21 (unless provided by parent or guardian in private)
Some dry communities in historically Methodist and Quaker communities in the southern part of the state.
Though there is not a ban on selling alcoholic beverages at grocery stores, New Jersey limits each chain to two licenses, so with only a few exceptions, most supermarkets/convenience stores/gas stations/pharmacies do not sell alcoholic beverages. In addition, liquor sales are only permitted in a separate department or attached sister store.
Bars are allowed to off-sale packaged goods.
With the exception of Jersey City and Newark, all municipalities MUST allow off-sales of beer and wine at any time on-sales are permitted. However, since alcoholic beverages are generally only found in package stores, this right is rarely exercised.
Alcoholic beverages by the drink as well as off-sales of beer and wine are permitted 24 hours a day in Atlantic City and Brigantine.

New Mexico
No
7 a.m. – 2 a.m., except Sundays, for establishments with full dispenser license.[83]
7 a.m. – 11 p.m., except Sundays, for restaurants with beer and wine license.

7 a.m. – midnight except Sundays[84]
Yes

New Mexico issues two types of license for consumption on-premises: a full dispenser license allowing sale of all types of alcohol, or a restaurant license permitting sale of beer and wine only. An additional Sunday permit is available which allows sale (on or off premises) on Sundays from noon until midnight. Exceptions are the prohibition of alcohol sale on Christmas, regardless of the day it falls on,[85] and a Sunday permit allowing of sale (on or off premises) until 2:00 a.m. January 1, if December 31 falls on a Sunday.[86] Sunday permits are only available where approved by voters within a local option district.[87] Selling, serving and giving alcohol to a minor is a class 4 felony punishable by up to 18 months in prison,[88] except when "a parent, legal guardian or adult spouse of a minor serves alcoholic beverages to that minor on real property, other than licensed premises, under the control of the parent, legal guardian or adult spouse",[89] or for religious purposes.

text: New York–South Dakota[edit]

text:
State
Alcoholic beverage control state
Alcohol sale hours
Grocery Store Sales
Age
Notes

Beer
Wine
Distilled spirits
On-premises
Off-premises
Beer
Wine
Distilled Spirits
Purchasing
Consumption

New York
No
8 a.m. – 4 a.m. (Mon – Sat)
Noon – 4 a.m. (Sun)
Some counties have more restrictive hours.
Beer: 24 hours
Wine & spirits: 8 a.m. – midnight (Mon–Sat)
Noon – 9 p.m. (Sun).
Yes
No
21

Off-premises sale of wine and spirits is only at liquor stores, and beer is not sold at liquor stores; it must be sold at supermarkets and convenience stores. Exchanges for returned items are permitted (at store owners' discretion).[90]
Some counties may retain the Sunday morning beer prohibition which the state discontinued as of July 30, 2006. Twelve dry towns, mostly in western region of state. Many counties have more restrictive off-premises hours, such as bans on beer sales overnight (hours vary). All liquor stores must be owned by a single owner, who owns that store and lives within a certain distance of it—effectively banning chain liquor stores from the state. New York City law does not allow open containers of alcohol in public.

North Carolina
No
Yes
7 a.m. – 2 a.m. (Mon – Sat)
10 a.m. – 2 a.m. (Sun)
Beer and wine: 7 a.m. – 2 a.m. (Mon – Sat)
10 a.m. – 2 a.m. (Sun)
Liquor: 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. (Mon – Sat)
Yes
No
21

15% ABV cap on beer, 16% cap on unfortified wine, 24% cap on fortified wine.[91]
No "happy hour," "buy one get one free," or "ladies night" style specials allowed.[92]

North Dakota
No
8 a.m. – 2 a.m. (Mon – Sat)
Noon – 2 a.m. (Sun)
8 a.m. – 2 a.m. (Mon – Sat)
Noon – 2 a.m. (Sun)
No
21

No off-sale on Thanksgiving Day. No Christmas Day on-sale, nor sales on Christmas Eve after 6 p.m.

Ohio
No
Yes
5:30 a.m. – 2:30 a.m.
5:30 a.m. – 1 a.m.
Yes, under 21% ABV
21
21 or older, unrestricted under supervision of individual's parent or legal guardian or legal age spouse[93]
12% ABV cap on beer was removed on May 31, 2016.[94] 21% ABV cap on wine.
Some counties have more restrictive off-premises hours.
The Division of Liquor Control does not operate retail outlets; it appoints private businesses to act as its agents and sell its products in exchange for a commission. Normal proof spirits (>21% ABV) are sold only in a limited number of agent stores. Many retail outlets sell diluted spirits (diluted by water to 21% ABV) under a more readily obtained permit.
No intoxicating liquor shall be handled by any person under twenty-one years of age, except that a person eighteen years of age or older employed by a permit holder may handle or sell beer or intoxicating liquor in sealed containers in connection with wholesale or retail sales, and any person nineteen years of age or older employed by a permit holder may handle intoxicating liquor in open containers when acting in the capacity of a server in a hotel, restaurant, club, or night club. .[95]
Beverages with less than 0.5% ABV can be sold/given to people under the age of eighteen if given by a physician in the regular line of his practice or given for established religious purposes, or the underage person is accompanied by a parent, spouse who is not an underage person, or legal guardian.[96]

Oklahoma
No
6 a.m. – 2 a.m.
10 a.m. – 9 p.m. (Mon – Sat)
3.2% only
No
21

4.0% ABV/3.2 ABW or higher only sold at room temperature in liquor stores, Liquor Stores closed on Sundays and some holidays. As of 2007, liquor stores are now open on election days. State law prohibits public intoxication, many counties and cities also prohibit public intoxication.

Oregon
No
Yes
7 a.m. – 2:30 a.m.
7 a.m. – 2:30 a.m.[97]
Yes
No
21

Liquor, all of which is state-owned prior to sale to consumers, is sold in private liquor stores. These stores are approved by Oregon's Liquor Commissioners to act as sales agents on the state's behalf.[98]

Pennsylvania
No
Yes
Restaurants, and bars: 7 a.m. – 2 a.m. (Mon – Sat)
11 a.m. - 2 a.m. (Sun)[99]
Clubs: 7 a.m. – 3 a.m.[100]
Beverage Centers and State Run Stores:
9 a.m. – 10 p.m. (Mon – Sat)
Noon – 5 p.m . (Sun)[101]
Grocery Stores:
7 a.m. - 10 p.m. (Mon -
Sat)
9 a.m. - 10pm
(Sun)

Yes*
No
21

Spirits can only be sold at state-operated stores. All persons must be at least 21 years of age to enter a state-operated liquor store alone. Beer is not sold at state-operated liquor stores.
Beer (but not wine) to go can be purchased at beverage outlets in any quantity. Prior to 2015 beverage centers could only sell 24 pack cases or greater. The rules were relaxed to permit sales of beer in any quantity in 2016.
*Beer and wine to go can be purchased in restaurants and grocery stores (at a separate point of purchase for alcohol and prepared foods sales in grocery stores) (six and 12 packs/192oz max. purchase (two six packs)) with Liquor Control Board–issued licenses
Sunday sales were prohibited in LCB stores until 2003 (selected locations) and beverage outlets (owner's option) until 2005.
Special permits may be purchased for certain organizations for fundraisers once per calendar year, and are valid for a total of six days under the same rules governing restaurants.[102] Grain alcohol prohibited as a beverage.

Rhode Island
No
9 am – 1 a.m. (Mon – Sat)
Noon – 1 a.m. (Sun)
9 a.m. – 10 p.m. (Mon – Sat)
10 a.m. – 6 p.m. (Sun)[103]
No
21
21
All alcohol may be sold only in liquor stores.
Bars may stay open until 2 a.m. in Providence only on Friday and Saturday nights and nights before a state-recognized holiday.

South Carolina
No
Yes
Liquor: 10 AM - 2 AM. Beer and Wine: Local Option.
Beer and low-alcohol wine: 24 hours
Liquor: 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. (Mon – Sat.)
Yes
No
21

14% ABW (17.5% ABV) cap on beer
Wine > 16% ABV sold in liquor stores
No hard liquor sales after 7 p.m. and none on Sundays.
No off-premises alcohol sales after midnight Saturday until 7 a.m. Monday, except in Aiken, Greenville, Pendleton, Spartanburg, Horry County, Colleton County, Richland County, Charleston County/city, Beaufort County, York County,[104] and Newberry County.[105]

South Dakota
No

Yes
21

14% ABV cap on beer

text: Tennessee–Wyoming, Puerto Rico[edit]

text:
State
Alcoholic beverage control state
Alcohol sale hours
Grocery Stores
Age
Notes

Beer
Wine
Distilled spirits
On-premises
Off-premises
Wine
Beer
Distilled Spirits
Purchasing
Consumption

Tennessee
No
Mon-Sat: 8 a.m. to 3 a.m.; Sun: Noon to 3 a.m. Hours of alcohol sale can be modified by local jurisdictions if approved by the alcohol control commission.
Beer: By municipality.
Wine & Spirits: 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Mon–Sat[106]
Yes
No
21

Wine may be sold in grocery stores. As of January 2018, sales of wine and liquor are no longer limited to on-premises in restaurants on Sundays. Liquor stores may remain open on Sundays, and liquor is permitted to be sold from retail stores for off-premisis consumption[107]. Retail stores must be closed for business on Christmas, Thanksgiving Day, Labor Day, New Year's Day, and the Fourth of July. Beer above 8% ABW /10.1% ABV must be sold in liquor stores. Open container law only applies to drivers, not passengers.[108]It is legal to carry alcohol in a non-glass container on the Beale Street stretch in Memphis. While most clubs allow drinks to be carried outside, many do not allow drinks from outside.

Texas
No
Monday-Friday: 7am-midnight
Saturday: 7am-1am
Sunday: Noon to 12 midnight.
Some cities/counties permit sale until 2am (with license).
Beer/Non-hard liquor:
7 a.m. to midnight (Mon.-Fri.)
7 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. (Sat.)
Noon to midnight (Sun.)
Hard Liquor:
10 a.m. to 9 p.m. (Mon.-Sat.)
Yes
No
21

No alcohol cap but ABV > 15.5% requires additional license, so many places are beer/wine only.
Wet/dry issues determined by city/county election.
Liquor stores statewide closed all day Sunday.
An alcoholic beverage served (on-premises) to a customer between 10 a.m. and noon on Sunday may only be provided during the service of food to the customer. Eleven Texas counties are completely dry.[109] In many counties, public intoxication laws are vigorously upheld.[110] Texas law permits consumption by minors (any age under 21) if in the "visible presence" of a parent, guardian or adult spouse. (Section 106.04) Possession by minors is permitted as part of employment or education, or in the visible presence of an adult parent, guardian or spouse, or supervision of a commissioned peace officer. (Section 106.05) There are also exemptions for minors requesting or receiving medical attention.

Utah
Yes
Restaurants: Noon to midnight for liquor, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. for beer. Bars may serve liquor from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.
Varies by state liquor store hours

3.2 only
No
21

ABV > 4.0+% sold in state-controlled stores only. 3.2% ABW (4.0% ABV) beer may be sold at grocery stores and convenience stores. State-controlled stores close on Sundays and cease operations no later than 10 p.m. the rest of the week. Restaurants must buy from the state-controlled store (no delivery) at retail prices. No alcohol is served in restaurants without purchase of food. Sales of kegs prohibited. Importation of alcohol into the state by private individuals generally prohibited.

Vermont
No
Yes
8 a.m. – 2 a.m.
6 a.m. – midnight

Yes
No
21

ABV > 16% beer and ABV > 16% wine are only available through state liquor stores (most of which are integrated within grocery and beverage stores[111]). A 2008 bill allows the sale of beer in grocery and convenience stores up to ABV 16%.

Virginia
No
Yes
6 a.m. – 2 a.m. No restrictions at any time for club licensees.
6 a.m. – 11:59 p.m. except local blue law.

Yes
No
21

Licensed supermarkets, convenience stores, and gas stations may sell beer and wine. Off-premises sales no later than 12 midnight. Liquor stores are owned and operated by the Commonwealth and are generally open 10am-9pm Monday-Saturday and from 12pm-6pm on Sunday.

Washington
No
6 a.m. – 2 a.m. (A local government subdivision may establish later opening hours or earlier closing hours.)
Yes
21

Beer and wine are available in specialty stores, grocery stores, convenience stores, department stores, taverns, and other locations licensed by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board. Spirits are available in stores greater than 10,000 sq ft (grocery stores, big box liquor chains). There are two exceptions to the 10,000-sq-ft rule: 1) Former State and Contract Liquor Stores that reopened under private ownership may also sell spirits provided they have been issued a new license from the state. 2) Cities, mostly in rural areas, that do not have a store that meets the minimum floor space may be allowed to sell spirits if the Liquor Control Board deems that there are no sufficient establishments within the trade area.

West Virginia
No
Yes
Beer/Wine: Mon-Sat:7 am-2 am, Sun:1 pm-2 am
Liquor: Mon-Sat:8 am-Midnight, Sun: Prohibited

Mon-Fri:7 am-3:30 am, Sat: 7A-3:00A, Sun:1 pm-3 am

Yes
21

12% ABV Cap on Beer. 75% ABV spirits Permitted. Liquor, wine and beer products that are not already in closed packaging must be bagged before exiting retail locations. State no longer operates retail stores (formerly State ABC Stores); Number of privately owned stores restricted according to county or city population. All stores are state contracted; Bars and clubs must purchase liquor from state contracted private stores in person. State retains monopoly over wholesaling of distilled spirits only.

Wisconsin
No
6 a.m. – 2 a.m. Sunday–Thursday, 2:30 a.m. Friday–Saturday, no closing time on New Year's Day.
6 a.m. – midnight for beer (some counties and municipalities only allow sales until 9 p.m. for beer), 6 a.m. – 9 p.m. for liquor and wine

By local ordinance
21

Wisconsin permits the consumption of alcohol by minors, provided they are being supervised by parents/guardians/spouses. Most municipalities have a uniform 9 p.m. restriction on all alcohol sales. Notable exceptions: Kenosha, Green Bay, La Crosse, Maple Bluff (near Madison), Baraboo (near the Dells). Supermarkets, liquor stores, and gas stations may sell liquor, wine, and beer. Law changed effective 12/7/2011 to allow all liquor sales to begin at 6 a.m.
Nonalcoholic beer is not regulated by state law.

Wyoming
No
Yes
6.00 a.m. – 2.00 a.m.

Yes[112]
21

Clubs holding liquor licenses may be exempt from the hours of operation here specified by local ordinance or regulation of the appropriate licensing authority, but it does not seem to happen in practice

Puerto Rico
No
No territory-wide mandated last call
No territory-wide mandated hours of operation for liquor stores, but sales prohibited on Election Day and during hurricane emergencies; some municipalities prohibit sales after midnight weekdays or 2:00 weekends.

Beer, wine and spirits available for sale in supermarkets, convenience stores and drug stores as well as liquor stores.
18

Minimum drinking age is 18.

Drinking on the street is illegal in San Juan (except in designated areas during selected street festivals) but not in all cities.