Two Americans held in Afghanistan were released in the final hours of President Biden's tenure in exchange for a Taliban member serving two life sentences in the US. Family members confirmed Ryan Corbett, 42, who was detained in August 2022, was "back home after what has been the most challenging and uncertain 894 days of our lives." Some media outlets reported William McKenty, 69, was also released. In a statement, the Taliban described the release of Khan Mohammed, 55, held in California. He was arrested decades ago in the Afghan province of Nangahar and later convicted of narcoterrorism and distributing drugs, per the Washington Post.
Corbett lived with his family in Afghanistan for more than a decade up until the Taliban returned to power in 2021. He was arrested when he returned to the country on a business trip related to the micro-lending consultancy he founded, USA Today reports. The US State Department considered him "wrongfully detained." Less is known about the case of McKenty, who "reportedly asked the US government to help maintain his privacy," per USA Today. "While we would not do the deal that the Biden administration did at the end, we are always happy to have two Americans home," a senior Trump administration official told CNN.
Corbett's family thanked Biden and Trump for assisting in the prisoner swap. They also expressed regret that two other Americans held in Afghanistan were not included. Mahmood Habibi was working for Kabul-based telecommunications company when he was apparently arrested in August 2022, shortly after the US strike that killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, according to the FBI. George Glezmann, a mechanic for Delta Air Lines, was also detained in 2022 while visiting Afghanistan as a tourist, per WSB. Held in the same Kabul facility as Corbett, he'd sent an audio message to Biden through his wife late last year, saying, "I cannot do another year." (More prisoner swap stories.)
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