Islamabad, Pakistan — A prisoner exchange between the United States and The Taliban regime in power in Afghanistan saw two Americans released in exchange for a Taliban figure imprisoned for life in California on drug trafficking and terrorism charges, officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday. In a statement, the family of Ryan Corbett, an American detained by the Taliban since summer 2022, said he was released as part of the deal.
Afghanistan’s Taliban-led Foreign Ministry announced the swap, saying two U.S. citizens had been exchanged for Khan Mohammed, who was sentenced to two life sentences in 2008 in the United States. The Taliban did not identify the Americans released as part of the deal.
Corbett, who was living in Afghanistan with his family at the time of the 2021 collapse of US-backed governmentwas kidnapped by the Taliban in August 2022 while on a business trip.
Courtesy of the Corbett family
The deal, the terms of which were not immediately confirmed by U.S. officials, was reached as former President Joe Biden, who oversaw the deal, Chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistanhanded over power to the return of President Trump. Members of the Corbett family were on stage Monday with Mr. Trump during his inaugural parade at the Capital One Arena in Washington, alongside family members of Israeli hostages detained in Gaza.
Corbett was believed by the US government to have been wrongly detained by the Taliban, and talks were underway in the final days of the Biden administration for a trade deal, but failed.
The Taliban hailed the exchange as a step toward “normalizing” relations between the United States and Afghanistan, but it likely remains a significant challenge because most countries around the world still do not recognize the militants’ rule. .
“Our hearts are filled with immense gratitude and praise to God for sustaining Ryan’s life and bringing him home after what has been the most difficult and uncertain 894 days of our lives,” the Corbett family said in their statement. They thanked Mr. Trump and Biden, as well as many officials from both administrations, for their efforts to free him.
Corbett’s family also praised the Middle Eastern country of Qatar for its “vital role in Ryan’s release and for its visits to Ryan as the protecting power of the United States in Afghanistan.”
Energy-rich Qatar, which has hosted negotiations between the United States and the Taliban over the years, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
CNN and the New York Times, relying on anonymous U.S. officials, identified the second freed American as William McKenty, although no further details have been revealed about his identity or what he was doing in Afghanistan. .
Mohammed, 55, was a prisoner in California after his conviction in 2008. The Bureau of Prisons listed Mohammed as not in custody Tuesday morning.
Mohammed was arrested on the battlefield in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province and then taken to the United States. A federal jury convicted him of possessing heroin and opium that he knew were destined for the United States and, in doing so, complicity in terrorist activity.
The Justice Department at the time called Mohammed a “violent jihadist and drug trafficker” who “sought to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan using rockets.” He was the first person to be convicted under US narcoterrorism laws.
Before Biden left office, his administration tried to strike a deal to release Corbett as well as George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi in exchange for Muhammad Rahim, one of the last detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
Last week, Biden spoke with relatives of the three Americans even though no agreement had been reached to get them back at that time, family members said.
Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta, was arrested by Taliban intelligence in December 2022 while crossing the country. Habibi, an Afghan American businessman who worked as a contractor for a Kabul-based telecommunications company, also disappeared in 2022. The Taliban have denied holding Habibi.
It was not immediately clear whether one of the two men was the other person believed to have been released by the Taliban on Tuesday. Washington officials did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday morning, following Mr. Trump’s inauguration the day before.
“We hoped that Ryan, George and Mahmoud would be reunited with their families, and we cannot imagine the pain our luck will bring them,” the Corbett family said. “We recognize the immense privilege of our family’s reunion today and pledge to continue to pray – and fight – for the speedy release of George and Mahmoud.”
The Taliban called the exchange the result of “long and fruitful negotiations” with the United States and said it was a good example of solving problems through dialogue.
“The Islamic Emirate views positively the actions of the United States of America which contribute to the normalization and development of relations between the two countries,” he said.
The Taliban have tried to advance to gain recognition, in part to escape the economic crisis caused by their takeover. Billions in international funds have been frozen and tens of thousands of highly skilled Afghans fled the country and took their money with them.
