The United States has freed two Americans held by the Taliban in exchange for a senior Taliban figure imprisoned in California for drug trafficking and terrorism. The swap, brokered before President Biden left office, marks a step towards normalizing relations between the two countries but the Taliban still hold two other Americans.
A prisoner swap between the United States and Afghanistan 's Taliban freed two Americans in exchange for a Taliban figure imprisoned for life in California on drug trafficking and terrorism charges, officials said Tuesday. The two Americans freed in the swap, Ryan Corbett and William McKenty, was brokered before President Biden left office Monday, according to a Trump administration official who was not authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity.
The Taliban’s Foreign Ministry in Kabul said the two U.S. citizens had been exchanged for Khan Mohammed, who was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment in 2008. Biden, who oversaw the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, on Monday handed power to President Trump. The Taliban praised the swap as a step toward the “normalization” of ties between the U.S. and Afghanistan, but that likely remains a tall order as most countries in the world still don’t recognize their rule and another two Americans are believed held. The Trump White House cheered the release and thanked Qatar for its assistance facilitating the deal, but also pressed the Taliban to free other Americans held in Afghanistan. “The Trump Administration will continue to demand the release of all Americans held by the Taliban, especially in light of the billions of dollars in U.S. aid they’ve received in recent years,' White House National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said in a statement. Corbett, who had lived in Afghanistan with his family at the time of the 2021 collapse of the U.S.-backed government, was detained by the Taliban in August 2022 while on a business trip. “Our hearts are filled with overwhelming gratitude and praise to God for sustaining Ryan’s life and bringing him back home after what has been the most challenging and uncertain 894 days of our lives,” the family's statement said. They thanked both Trump and Biden, as well as many government officials, for their efforts in freeing him. Corbett's family also praised the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar “for their vital role in facilitating Ryan’s release, and for their visits to Ryan as the United States’ Protecting Power in Afghanistan.” Energy-rich Qatar has hosted negotiations between the U.S. and the Taliban over the years. A statement from the Qatar Foreign Ministry acknowledged the country's role in the swap, saying all those traded passed through Doha on their way to their own countries. Qatar hopes 'that this agreement would pave the way for achieving further understandings as a means to resolve disputes through peaceful means,” the statement said. It was unclear what McKenty was doing in Afghanistan. Officials in Washington did not respond to requests for comment early Tuesday after Trump’s inauguration the day before. Mohammed, 55, was a prisoner in California after his 2008 conviction. The Bureau of Prisons early Tuesday listed Mohammed as not being in their custody. Hafiz Zia Ahmad Takal, a Taliban Foreign Ministry deputy spokesperson, said Mohammed had arrived in Afghanistan and was with his family. Photos released by the Taliban showed him being welcomed back in his home province of Nangarhar, in the country's east, with multicolored garlands. Mohammed told Taliban-controlled media he had spent time behind bars in Bagram and also Washington, D.C. “It’s a joy seeing your family and coming to your homeland. The greatest joy is to come and join your Muslim brothers,” he said. He was detained on the battlefield in Nangarhar and later taken to the U.S. A federal jury convicted him on charges of securing heroin and opium that he knew were bound for the United States and, in doing so, assisting terrorism activity. The Justice Department at the time referred to Mohammed as “a violent jihadist and narcotics trafficker” who “sought to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan using rockets.” He was the first person to be convicted on U.S. narco-terrorism laws. Ahmed Rashid, the author of several books about Afghanistan and the Taliban, described Mohammed as the “biggest drugs smuggler the U.S. had to deal with and key funder of the Taliban.” Before Biden left office, his administration had been trying to work out a deal to free Corbett, as well as George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi, in exchange for Muhammad Rahim, one of the remaining detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta, was taken by the Taliban’s intelligence services in December 2022 while traveling through the country. Habibi, an Afghan American businessman who worked as a contractor for a Kabul-based telecommunications company, also went missing in 2022. The Taliban have denied they have Habibi. Habibi's family welcomed the exchange and said they were confident the Trump administration would make a “greater effort” to free him, expressing their frustration with the Biden team
Taliban Prisoner Swap United States Afghanistan Khan Mohammed Ryan Corbett William Mckenty George Glezmann Mahmood Habibi
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