US labels Taliban-ruled Afghanistan a 'state sponsor of wrongful detention,' demands release of jailed Americans

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday he has designated Afghanistan as a "State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention," demanding Taliban authorities release two Americans and commit to ending its "hostage diplomacy."

The move comes just over a week after Iran became the first country added to Washington's new "wrongful detention" blacklist.


President Donald Trump in September signed an executive order that created the blacklist, similar to designations by the United States on terrorism.

"The Taliban continues to use terrorist tactics, kidnapping individuals for ransom or to seek policy concessions," Rubio said in a statement.

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He said it was "not safe for Americans to travel to Afghanistan because the Taliban continues to unjustly detain our fellow Americans and other foreign nationals."

"The Taliban needs to release Dennis Coyle, Mahmoud Habibi, and all Americans unjustly detained in Afghanistan now and commit to cease the practice of hostage diplomacy forever," he added.

Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman, previously served as Afghanistan's director of civil aviation.

He was arrested in August 2022 in Kabul along with dozens of other employees of his telecommunications company, according to US authorities.

The State Department has issued a reward of $5 million for information leading to Habibi's return.

Coyle is an academic from Colorado who worked for two decades in Afghanistan before being detained in January 2025, according to the James Foley Foundation.

What does the designation mean?The "State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention" label is a diplomatic tool created under a Trump executive order in 2025, designed to increase formal pressure on countries that detain Americans as political leverage. Afghanistan is only the second country to receive it — Iran was the first, designated on February 27, 2026.

Rubio stated Monday that it is "not safe for Americans to travel to Afghanistan" and warned of potential travel restrictions.