The Trump administration has secured the release of Taliban captive George Glezmann, an American citizen whom the Biden administration failed to designate as "wrongfully detained" for nearly a year, the State Department announced Thursday.
"Today, after two and a half years of captivity in Afghanistan, Delta Airlines mechanic George Glezmann is on his way to be reunited with his wife, Aleksandra," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. The release follows weeks of negotiations led by President Donald Trump's hostage envoy, Adam Boehler, and Qatari officials.
No prisoners were exchanged for Glezmann's release, a U.S. official confirmed to CNN. "The Taliban government agreed to free him as a goodwill gesture to [Trump] and the American people," former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, who assisted in the negotiations, wrote on X.
Glezmann, 66, was detained by the Taliban in December 2022 while traveling through Afghanistan as a tourist. The Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, following the Biden administration's chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces.
The Biden administration did not designate Glezmann as wrongfully detained until October 2023, prompting widespread criticism. Former president Joe Biden contemplated a prisoner exchange that would have freed Glezmann and other Americans but ultimately rejected the proposal as he also wanted the release of Afghan-American businessman Mahmood Habibi, according to the Associated Press.
Glezmann was held in "a nine-foot by nine-foot cell with other detainees and has been held in solitary confinement and underground for months at a time," Georgia Democratic senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, who campaigned for Glezmann's release, said last July.
Glezmann is the third American citizen freed from Afghanistan this year. Ryan Corbett and William McKenty were released on January 21, as part of a prisoner exchange negotiated during the final days of Biden's presidency.
"George's release is a positive and constructive step," Rubio said. "It is also a reminder that other Americans are still detained in Afghanistan. President Trump will continue his tireless work to free ALL Americans unjustly detained around the world."