At least 26 Americans held hostage abroad have been freed since President Donald Trump entered the Oval Office in January. Those who gained their freedom include a ballerina, a teacher and a mechanic, among others.
On Jan. 21, 2025, just one day after Trump’s second term began, Ryan Corbett and William McKenty were released from Taliban captivity in Afghanistan. While Corbett and McKenty were freed under Trump, the deal that secured their release was completed by the Biden administration.
Corbett and his family moved to Afghanistan in 2010, where they lived in Kabul and Jalalabad. According to a website set up by his family, Corbett did work for NGOs, which focused on education, birth and life-saving skills. He also started a project in 2017, Bloom Afghanistan, with the goal of strengthening the country’s private sector. In 2021, the Corbett family evacuated as the Taliban took control of the country. Corbett returned to Afghanistan a year later and was captured by the Taliban, which his family suspects was because of his “value as political leverage.”
There aren’t many details on McKenty or exactly why he was in Afghanistan. According to the BBC, his family asked for privacy.
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Anastasia Nuhfer, who was detained in Belarus during the Biden administration, gained her freedom Jan. 26, 2025. While Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Nuhfer’s release, he did not give details on when she was detained or why. However, according to The Associated Press, a former high-ranking Belarusian official said the arrest was linked to 2020 protests against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Special envoy Ric Grenell secured the release of six Americans after meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Grenell posted a photo of himself and the men on a plane and said that they “couldn’t stop thanking” Trump when speaking to him on the phone. The men were not identified.
After spending 484 days as a hostage in Gaza, Keith Siegel was released as part of a ceasefire deal Feb. 1, 2025. Siegel was taken from Kibbutz Kfar Aza during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks. His wife, Aviva, was also taken hostage but was released in November 2023.
On April 8, Siegel, who has credited Trump with saving his life, thanked the president during an NRCC event in Washington, D.C.
“President Trump, I am here, and I am alive. President Trump, you saved my life,” Siegel said. He also asked Trump to continue working to secure the freedom of the 59 remaining hostages in Gaza.
American schoolteacher Marc Fogel was released from Russian captivity Feb. 11, 2025, more than three years after he was detained. Fogel was carrying less than one ounce of medical marijuana, according to his family’s website, which he used for severe pain. The Fogel family criticized former President Joe Biden’s handling of Marc’s case, especially in light of his work to release WNBA player Brittney Griner, who was also arrested for having marijuana.
On July 13, 2024, Fogel’s mother, Malphine, attended a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Marc’s hometown. She spoke with Trump, who promised to bring her son home.
Trump invited Marc and Malphine to attend his address to a joint session of Congress in March 2025.
On Feb. 12, 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that an American “unjustly detained in Belarus” had been released. The statement did not include details or identifying information about the hostage. In a press release, Rubio affirmed the administration’s commitment to releasing Americans held hostage across the globe.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli American Sagui Dekel-Chen was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists from his home at Kibbutz Nir Oz. He was shot in the shoulder during the massacre and endured torture while in captivity.
Dekel-Chen spent almost 500 days as a hostage in Gaza and gained his freedom in February 2025. While he was in captivity, his wife gave birth to their third child. He only learned about his daughter’s birth after being released.
On March 13, 2025, 10 unidentified Americans, including veterans and military contractors, were released from captivity in Kuwait. According to The Associated Press, the American citizens were detained on drug charges.
Delta Airlines mechanic George Glezmann spent more than two years as a hostage in Gaza after being detained by the Taliban in December 2022. According to senators John Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, both Democrats from Georgia, Glezmann went to “Afghanistan for a five-day trip to explore the cultural landscape and rich history of the country.” The two senators advocated for Glezmann’s release, which eventually occurred March 20, 2025.
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The Taliban released Faye Hall in March 2025, though it is unclear when she was detained. CBS News reported that Hall was arrested on charges of using a drone without authorization.
The Trump administration posted a video of Hall thanking the president for her release. In the video, Hall said she had “never been so proud to be an American citizen.”
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Russian American ballet dancer Ksenia Karelina was released from detention April 10, 2025, after being wrongfully detained for over a year. Karelina was arrested and sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony after donating approximately $50 to a Ukrainian charity.
“Mr. Trump, I’m so, so grateful for you bringing me home,” a teary-eyed Karelina said upon her arrival in the U.S. “I never felt more blessed to be American.”
Christopher Guly contributed to this report.
