Officials announced Tuesday that the United States and the Taliban exchanged two Americans for a Taliban leader whom California had sentenced to life in prison on charges of terrorism and drug trafficking.
The agreement took place as President Donald Trump returned to power, taking over from Joe Biden, who led the tumultuous U.S. pullout from Afghanistan in 2021.
Although the majority of nations still do not recognize their rule, the Taliban welcomed the exchange as a step toward the “normalization” of relations between the United States and Afghanistan.
“Following extensive and productive negotiations between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and the United States of America, an agreement was reached facilitating the release of an Afghan Mujahid, Khan Mohammad, from a US prison in exchange for the release of American nationals.” The Afghan Foreign Ministry wrote in a post on X (previously Twitter) on Tuesday.
Steps taken for normalizing relation between the U.S. and Taliban
The Taliban’s release of two American citizens, Ryan Corbett and William McKenty, in a prisoner exchange with the US is a noteworthy development.
In exchange, the United States released Taliban member Khan Mohammed, who had been serving a life sentence in California for terrorism and drug trafficking charges.
The Taliban had held Ryan Corbett captive since August 2022, when he was in Afghanistan on business.
Upon his return, his family, who had vigorously advocated for his release, expressed their sincere appreciation. There are currently no clear details behind William McKenty’s incarceration.
The Taliban detained Khan Mohammed in 2005 and sentenced him to life in prison in 2008 for his roles in terrorism and drug trafficking. He then participated in the swap.Following the exchange, he returned to Afghanistan, where people greeted him with joy.
One of the last things the Biden administration did was to exchange prisoners on January 21, 2025.Although the international community still minimally acknowledges the Taliban government, many see it as a step toward repairing relations between the United States and the Taliban.
Despite this encouraging development, reports suggest that the Taliban are still holding other Americans, such as Mahmood Habibi and George Glezmann. Their relatives continue to urge the U.S. government to secure their release.
Trump’s presidency
The United States and the Taliban recently exchanged two American citizens in a prisoner swap, but former President Donald Trump has not yet made a public statement on the matter.
This exchange took place just hours after President Joe Biden handed over the presidency to Trump.
It’s important to recall that President Trump managed such prisoner exchanges during his last administration. For example, the Trump administration made it possible for two Western hostages to be released in 2019 in return for three high-ranking Taliban officials.
In an effort to further peace negotiations in Afghanistan, the Trump administration also negotiated the release of 5,000 Taliban detainees in 2020 as part of the Doha Agreement.
