Trump signs order paving way for nations to be designated state sponsors of wrongful detention 

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump on Sept 5 signed an executive order paving the way for Washington to designate countries around the world a state sponsor of wrongful detention and impose punitive measures, including sanctions, on those it deems are wrongfully holding Americans.

Senior administration officials said the US would target countries currently holding wrongfully detained Americans as well as those that engage in “hostage diplomacy”, including China, Iran and Afghanistan, which one official said would be reviewed for designation.

“The bottom line: Anyone who uses an American as a bargaining chip will pay the price. This administration is not only putting America first but also putting Americans first,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

A second senior administration official said the penalties imposed on countries will be similar to how the US deploys the Foreign Terrorist Organisation designations and include measures such as sanctions, export controls and barring those deemed associated with wrongful detentions from entering the US.

“Today, everything changes with regards to rogue regimes and regimes who think Americans can be treated as pawns,” the second official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters.

Since taking office in January, Mr Trump has prioritised the return of Americans held abroad. The officials on Sept 5 said the administration had secured the return of 72 Americans, including from Russia and Afghanistan.

“We’ve gotten a lot of hostages,” Mr Trump said at the signing.

The officials said that under the new policy, the US will give notice to a country after identifying that there has been a wrongful detention, allowing them a certain amount of time to act before Washington begins to impose sanctions.

Mr Trump could also choose to lift sanctions if there is progress, one of the officials said, adding that the aim was to create “really, really strong motivation” for people to think before they take an American and to return any who are being held.

“In a case like Iran... or Russia, I think you will see a change here,” the official said. Russia is believed to be holding nine Americans, with around eight held by Iran.

Iran, designated a state sponsor of terrorism by the US, is already under heavy US sanctions. Russia as well is under severe sanctions imposed over the invasion of Ukraine. 

In May, a source close to the Kremlin said that the US had previously provided Moscow with a list of nine Americans jailed in Russia that Washington wants to have returned.

The Trump administration earlier in 2025 secured the release of Mr Marc Fogel, a US schoolteacher and former employee of the US embassy in Moscow, and Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina.

The US and China have also had tensions over exit bans, which Beijing has used on both Chinese and foreign nationals, often in connection with civil disputes, regulatory investigations or criminal investigations. 

In July, the US State Department said that the Chinese government had blocked a US Patent and Trademark Office employee visiting the Asian country in a personal capacity from leaving.

The US has also been concerned about detentions of Americans in Venezuela.

Global Reach, a non-profit that works to bring home Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad, commended the action on Sept 5.

“This designation is something that will put real teeth behind the US government’s efforts to bring home detained Americans and deter offending nations from engaging in ‘hostage diplomacy’,” chief executive Mickey Bergman said in a statement. REUTERS