Adam Boehler, the US special envoy for hostage affairs, warned that countries holding American citizens unjustly cannot maintain relations with the United States, remarks that appeared to reference Taliban in Afghanistan.
Boehler said in a post on the social platform X that Washington will not maintain ties with governments that detain Americans without justification.
“Every country in the world needs to know you cannot have a relationship with the United States if you are holding our citizens unjustly,” Boehler wrote.
He said the statement reflected US policy following the decision by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to designate Afghanistan under Taliban rule as a “state sponsor of wrongful detention.”
Rubio said the Taliban continue to use detention of foreign nationals to seek political concessions and called for the immediate release of Americans held in Afghanistan, including Dennis Coyle and Mahmood Shah Habibi.
Sebastian Gorka, a deputy assistant to Trump, described Rubio’s statement as a warning to the Taliban and reposted it on X, writing: “Taliban, you have been warned.”
Boehler has previously said the United States will not tolerate countries holding Americans abroad and noted that three US citizens are currently detained in Afghanistan.
He warned that if the detainees are not released, Afghanistan could face serious consequences, suggesting measures similar to those imposed on countries such as Venezuela or Iran.
