U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order empowering Washington to designate countries as state sponsors of wrongful detention and impose punitive measures, including sanctions, on those accused of holding Americans unlawfully.
Senior administration officials said the order targets countries currently detaining Americans as well as those engaged in what they described as “hostage diplomacy,” naming China, Iran and Afghanistan as under review for possible designation.
“The bottom line: Anyone who uses an American as a bargaining chip will pay the price. This administration is not only putting America first but also putting Americans first,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
A second senior official compared the penalties to measures applied to Foreign Terrorist Organization designations, including sanctions, export controls, and travel bans on individuals linked to wrongful detentions.
“Today, everything changes with regards to rogue regimes and regimes who think Americans can be treated as pawns,” the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
Since taking office in January, Trump has prioritised the return of Americans held abroad, with officials saying 72 detainees had been brought home, including from Russia and Afghanistan.
“We’ve gotten a lot of hostages,” Trump said at the signing ceremony.
Under the new policy, countries identified as wrongfully detaining Americans will be formally notified and given a window to act before sanctions take effect. Sanctions could be lifted if progress is made.
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“One of the aims is to create really, really strong motivation for people to think before they take an American and to return any who are being held,” the official said, adding: “In a case like Iran … or Russia, I think you will see a change here.”
Russia is believed to be holding nine Americans, while around eight are in detention in Iran. The administration earlier this year secured the release of U.S. schoolteacher Marc Fogel, a former employee of the U.S. embassy in Moscow, and Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina.
Tensions with China have also risen over exit bans, which Washington says Beijing has imposed on both foreign and Chinese nationals, often in connection with civil disputes or regulatory cases. In July, the State Department said Chinese authorities prevented a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office employee from leaving the country while travelling in a personal capacity.
Venezuela has also drawn Washington’s concern over detentions of American citizens.
Global Reach, a nonprofit organisation advocating for hostages, welcomed the move. “This designation is something that will put real teeth behind the U.S. government’s efforts to bring home detained Americans and deter offending nations from engaging in ‘hostage diplomacy,’” said its CEO, Mickey Bergman.
