Dozens of Americans are still jailed abroad, sometimes on flimsy or politically charged accusations. On September 5, the White House created a new tool it says will raise the cost of that practice. President Donald Trump signed an executive order allowing the United States to label foreign governments “state sponsors of wrongful detention” and hit them with sanctions, export controls, visa bans, and other penalties. “No American should fear being taken as a political pawn by rogue states,” the order says.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained: “Like the State Sponsor of Terrorism determination, no nation should want to end up on this list,” framing the policy as a deterrent to “hostage diplomacy.” In the Oval Office, adviser Sebastian Gorka told the president the order “draw[s] a line in the sand that U.S. citizens will not be used [as] bargaining chips.” AP News reported that countries under review include China, Iran, Afghanistan and Russia, and that the State Department could also apply the label to non-state groups that control territory.
The executive order builds on a 2022 directive that let the US target individuals and networks involved in hostage-taking and wrongful detention. The new step formalizes a country-level designation similar in spirit to the terrorism sponsor list and ties it to a list of automatic penalties. The White House says designations can be lifted if a country releases detainees and credibly changes course, as the Federal Register detailed at the time.
The James W. Foley Legacy Foundation recently reported that “at least 54 Americans were held hostage or wrongfully detained overseas during 2024.” Most were captured by governments rather than militias, and that the average captivity at year’s end was nearly six years. “We need Americans to be more aware… of what countries are actually targeting U.S. nationals,” foundation president Diane Foley said last year.
Moscow’s detentions have been among the highest profiles. In August 2024, Russia freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan – both labeled wrongfully detained by Washington – along with other Western prisoners. Gershkovich returned to the US after 491 days and Whelan after 1,900, Reuters reported. In early 2025, Russia also released Pennsylvania teacher Marc Fogel, who was serving a 14-year sentence over medically prescribed marijuana.
Even with those successes, other Americans and dual nationals have cycled through Russian courts on charges the United States calls politicized. Reuters noted that prisoner exchanges in April 2025 included Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina, convicted of “treason” for a small donation to a Ukraine-related charity.
Tehran has long been accused of leveraging foreign nationals as bargaining chips. In September 2023, five Americans were freed as part of a complex arrangement that included a prisoner exchange and access to frozen Iranian funds for humanitarian purchases. “Today, five Americans who were unjustly detained in Iran are finally coming home,” the State Department said at the time.
Wrongful detentions surged in Venezuela in recent years. In July, the State Department announced: “every wrongfully detained American in Venezuela is now free and back in our homeland,” crediting stepped-up diplomacy and swaps. Even so, the department cautioned in May that Americans still face a “significant and growing risk of wrongful detention” there.
Texan Mark Swidan spent more than a decade imprisoned in China. He was ultimately freed in a late-2024 swap. Months earlier, the United States had said it was “disappointed” when a Chinese court upheld his death sentence with a reprieve, as reported by CBS News.
Reporting by some media outlets claim the executive order lets Washington move faster to impose costs on governments that hold Americans to gain leverage such as sanctions, export controls, visa bans, travel advisories and more. Senior officials say countries will get a warning and an opportunity to release detainees before penalties kick in. “The easiest way to get out of the executive order is to send our men and women back,” one senior official told Reuters.
If the administration publicly labels a country as a sponsor of wrongful detention, Americans may think twice about traveling there, and airlines, insurers, and universities may adjust policies accordingly. The State Department can also apply the label to non-state entities that control territories – a nod to groups that have held Americans in recent conflicts.
Past efforts show designations and sanctions only work if governments believe the pain will grow the longer they hold Americans. The Foley Foundation’s 2024 snapshot found nearly half of releases came via prisoner exchanges. But some critics worry swaps can incentivize more detentions. Foundation analysts noted there was “no subsequent increase” in wrongful detentions in Iran or Venezuela after recent swaps, undermining the idea that negotiations automatically fuel new cases.
The administration says it has already helped bring home dozens of Americans this year, highlighting swaps that freed Fogel from Russia and Americans from Venezuela.
“The bottom line: Anyone who uses an American as a bargaining chip will pay the price,” Rubio said in a statement. “This administration is not only putting America first but also putting Americans first.”