Hours before Donald Trump was sworn into office, the United States government reached an agreement with the Afghan Taliban to complete a prisoner exchange.
The deal involved the release of two American citizens, Ryan Corbett and William McKenty, by the Taliban in exchange for Khan Mohammed, a member of the Afghan Taliban being held by the US in a narcotics and terrorism case.
The deal was facilitated by Qatar and the exchange took place in Doha. The Qatari government reportedly provided support for the transfer of the American citizens from Afghanistan to Doha as well.
The Afghan Taliban have also confirmed that the deal took place in a statement.
“Following extensive & productive negotiations between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan & the United States of America, an agreement was reached facilitating the release of an Afghan Mujahid, Khan Mohammad, from a U.S. prison in exchange for the release of American nationals,” the Afghan Foreign Ministry said.
Outgoing President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan reportedly told Trump’s advisor Mike Waltz about the deal right before the inauguration. Trump officials reportedly accepted the deal as things were already in motion.
The US administration tried to negotiate the release of two more of its nationals, George Glezmann and Mahmoud Habibi, but the Taliban did not agree.
Of the prisoners released, Corbett had worked in Afghanistan for over 10 years as part of various NGOs and also ran a business. He had returned to the country in 2022 and had apparently been ‘praised’ for his work by the Taliban, prompting a second trip in August 2024, where he was detained. However, no charges were framed against him.
According to CNN, Corbett’s wife Anna was told about the prisoner swap deal at the last minute and was even invited to Trump’s inauguration with her children.
The other prisoner, McKenty, remains shrouded in mystery. While the US administration has known about him for quite a while, it is unclear what he was doing in Afghanistan or why he was detained.
The Taliban prisoner released in exchange was arrested in 2006 on the charges of smuggling drugs. Mohammed received two death sentences in 2008 for terrorism and smuggling narcotics to the US. He had described the drug smuggling operations to the US as a form of jihad.
