Over 2 dozen American hostages released around the globe since Trump took office

At least 26 Americans held abroad have been released since President Donald Trump assumed office in January.

The releases began on Jan. 21st, when Ryan Corbett and William McKenty were released by the Taliban as per a deal set up by the Biden administration. Corbett lived in Afghanistan because he worked for NGOs, according to Fox News, while there aren’t many details on why McKenty lived there.

The next release occurred on Jan. 26th, when Anastasia Nuhfer was released by Belarus after having spent around a month in detainment for protesting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. This release was attributable entirely to the Trump administration.

Thanks to @POTUS leadership, Belarus just unilaterally released an innocent American, ANASTASSIA Nuhfer, who was taken under JOE BIDEN! @ChrisWelbySmith from our team did a great job on this. PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) January 26, 2025

Then in early February, U.S. Envoy for Special Missions Ric Grenell travelled to Venezuela to make a deal with President Nicolás Maduro for the release of six unnamed American hostages.

At the time, Democrats began accusing Trump of kowtowing to Maduro.

“The Trump Administration is working to directly undermine Venezuela’s transition of power to President-Elect Edmundo Gonzalez by negotiating with dictator Nicolás Maduro,” Florida Democrat Party Chair Nikki Fried whined in a statement.

“To add insult to injury, this meeting was about Trump’s plans to cruelly deport Venezuelans to Maduro’s dictatorial regime to possibly face kidnapping or worse. Donald Trump promised he would be a dictator on day one, and he’s delivering on that promise to Venezuelans,” she added.

Next, a ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Hamas on Feb. 1st led to the release of American hostage Keith Siegel.

“President Trump, you saved my life — you saved the lives of 33 hostages,” Siegel subsequently said at an event in D.C., referring to Israelis released during a previous hostage deal.

“You set the hostage crisis at the highest priority. You got 33 of us home alive. We all owe our lives to you,” he added.

Listen:

SHOW-STOPPING MOMENT

Former Gaza Hostage, Keith Siegel, delivers tremendously moving remarks at the NRCC’s “President’s Dinner,” after being held in captivity by Hamas for 484 DAYS.

“Thank you President Trump. I am here, I am alive. President Trump you saved my life…… pic.twitter.com/DSqfy1ebK4

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 9, 2025

Days later, on Feb 11th, President Trump secured the release of an American man who’d been falsely imprisoned in Russia since the early days of the Biden administration, only for the media to ignore the release.

In August of 2021, schoolteacher Marc Fogel was jailed after being caught with medical marijuana. A year later, in June of 2022, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

The Biden administration then waited until late 2024 to finally classify him as wrongfully detained. Moreover, the administration excluded him from two prisoner swaps, including the famous prisoner swap involving women’s basketball player Brittney Griner.

Flash forward to July 13th, 2024, the day then-presidential candidate Trump survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. Moments before he took the stage, he spoke with Fogel’s mother.

“Linking arms with Trump, Malphine Fogel recounted her son’s ordeal, how she was struggling to get the Biden administration to prioritize his case and her fears for his health,” according to The Wall Street Journal.

“Flashing a thumbs-up before a camera, Trump promised to ‘get him out,’ then invited her onto the VIP section of the stage to watch him speak,” the Journal’s reporting continues.

He meant it.

“When I saw [Marc Fogel’s] mother at a rally, she said, ‘If you win, will you get my son out?’ I promised her—she’s 95 years old—and I said, ‘We’ll get him out,’ and we got him out pretty quickly.” –President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/jQ681LMxgD

— President Donald J. Trump (@POTUS) February 12, 2025

The list goes on and on and includes an unnamed American released from Belarus, an Israeli-American released by Hamas, 10 Americans released from Kuwait, a Delta Airlines mechanic released by Hamas, and, most recently, Faye Hall and Ksenia Karelina.

Hall was released by the Taliban after being detained in Afghanistan in February.

“I’ve never been so proud to be an American citizen,” she said afterward in a video later shared to social media by Trump. “Thank you, Mr President. God bless you.”

As for Karelina, she’s a Russian-American ballet dancer who was sentenced to 12 years in a Russian prison last year for having donated to a Ukrainian charity.

Senior Staff Writer
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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.

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