Donald Trump has secured the release of an American hostage after more than a year in captivity in Afghanistan after he was kidnapped by the Taliban.
Dennis Coyle, an academic who had been living in Afghanistan since the early 2000s, was detained by the terror group without charges in January 2025.
‘Today, after more than a year of captivity in Afghanistan, Dennis Coyle is on his way home,’ Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
Afghan officials said that Coyle, originally from Colorado, was released to his family in Kabul.
Rubio credited the United Arab Emirates with helping to secure his freedom.
The Taliban had said that Coyle was ‘arrested for violating the laws of Afghanistan,’ while the US declared in June that he had been unlawfully detained.
The Trump administration designated Afghanistan a state-sponsor of wrongful detention earlier this month.
US citizen Dennis Coyle upon his release by the Taliban, walks with the UAE ambassador to Kabul Saif Mohammed Al-Ketbi (right) toward a chartered aircraft at the airport in Kabul on March 24
US citizen Dennis Coyle upon his release by the Taliban, poses with US former special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad (right) and the UAE ambassador to Kabul Saif Mohammed Al-Ketbi (left) at the airport in Kabul on March 24
American Dennis Coyle smiles after being released by Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities, who had held him for over a year, before boarding a plane at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday
US former special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad (R) and US citizen Dennis Coyle (L) upon his release by the Taliban, address the media at the airport in Kabul on March 24
Accompanied by U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, right, and UAE Ambassador in Kabul Saif Al Ketbi,, left, American Dennis Coyle, center, smiles after being released by Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities, who had held him for over a year, before boarding a plane at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, March 24
American Dennis Coyle, second from right, is accompanied by an unidentified person after being released by Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities, who had held him for over a year, before boarding a plane at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, March 24
