American hostage Ryan Corbett‘s family announced on Tuesday that he was freed by the Taliban, ending his 894-day captivity in Afghanistan.
Corbett was released just hours after President Donald Trump was sworn into office and after the Biden administration ramped up its negotiations with the Taliban in the past month. According to the Taliban, Corbett and one other hostage who wasn’t named were exchanged for terrorist Khan Muhammad, who was serving a life sentence in California, NBC News reported.
“Today, our hearts are filled with overwhelming gratitude and praise to God for sustaining Ryan’s life and bringing him back home after what has been the most challenging and uncertain 894 days of our lives,” the Corbett family said in a statement shared with The Daily Wire.
The family thanked Trump, former President Joe Biden, incoming National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, incoming Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Adam Boehler, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and former Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens for “their tireless work and steadfast dedication to bringing Ryan back to us.”
Muhammed, the terrorist exchanged for Corbett’s release, was convicted and sentenced on drug and narco-terrorism charges. The Department of Justice said that Muhammed “sought to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan using rockets” and attempted to send heroin to the U.S.
Corbett and his family first moved to Afghanistan in 2010 and started Bloom Afghanistan, an enterprise focused on improving the war-torn country’s private sector. The Corbett family safely evacuated from Afghanistan when the United States withdrew under Biden’s orders in August 2021, and then Ryan returned around five months later. He was captured by the Taliban a year after the Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.
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Corbett’s wife, Anna, worked tirelessly to secure her husband’s release. She met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, urged the Biden administration to act, and spoke to numerous news outlets, including The Daily Wire, to raise awareness of Ryan’s dire situation. Last week, Anna spoke to “Morning Wire,” expressing her hope that her husband would be home soon.
In her interview with “Morning Wire,” Anna told Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley that she recently met with Waltz, Trump’s National Security Advisor nominee, for “over an hour,” which was a sharp contrast to her experience with Biden’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
“I had to beg and work so hard to have a meeting with the current National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, and it took 16 months to meet with him,” Anna said.
As the Corbett family expressed their gratitude for the work of the Trump and Biden teams, they also called for the release of two men still held by the Taliban, American George Glezmann and Afghan journalist Mahmoud Habibi.
“It was our hope that Ryan, George and Mahmoud would be returned to their families together, and we cannot imagine the pain that our good fortune will bring them,” the family said. “We recognize the immense privilege of our family’s reunion today, and pledge to keep praying – and fighting – for George and Mahmoud’s swift release.”
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[[{“value”:”
American hostage Ryan Corbett‘s family announced on Tuesday that he was freed by the Taliban, ending his 894-day captivity in Afghanistan.
Corbett was released just hours after President Donald Trump was sworn into office and after the Biden administration ramped up its negotiations with the Taliban in the past month. According to the Taliban, Corbett and one other hostage who wasn’t named were exchanged for terrorist Khan Muhammad, who was serving a life sentence in California, NBC News reported.
“Today, our hearts are filled with overwhelming gratitude and praise to God for sustaining Ryan’s life and bringing him back home after what has been the most challenging and uncertain 894 days of our lives,” the Corbett family said in a statement shared with The Daily Wire.
The family thanked Trump, former President Joe Biden, incoming National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, incoming Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Adam Boehler, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and former Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens for “their tireless work and steadfast dedication to bringing Ryan back to us.”
Muhammed, the terrorist exchanged for Corbett’s release, was convicted and sentenced on drug and narco-terrorism charges. The Department of Justice said that Muhammed “sought to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan using rockets” and attempted to send heroin to the U.S.
Corbett and his family first moved to Afghanistan in 2010 and started Bloom Afghanistan, an enterprise focused on improving the war-torn country’s private sector. The Corbett family safely evacuated from Afghanistan when the United States withdrew under Biden’s orders in August 2021, and then Ryan returned around five months later. He was captured by the Taliban a year after the Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.
CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT
Corbett’s wife, Anna, worked tirelessly to secure her husband’s release. She met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, urged the Biden administration to act, and spoke to numerous news outlets, including The Daily Wire, to raise awareness of Ryan’s dire situation. Last week, Anna spoke to “Morning Wire,” expressing her hope that her husband would be home soon.
In her interview with “Morning Wire,” Anna told Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley that she recently met with Waltz, Trump’s National Security Advisor nominee, for “over an hour,” which was a sharp contrast to her experience with Biden’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
“I had to beg and work so hard to have a meeting with the current National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, and it took 16 months to meet with him,” Anna said.
As the Corbett family expressed their gratitude for the work of the Trump and Biden teams, they also called for the release of two men still held by the Taliban, American George Glezmann and Afghan journalist Mahmoud Habibi.
“It was our hope that Ryan, George and Mahmoud would be returned to their families together, and we cannot imagine the pain that our good fortune will bring them,” the family said. “We recognize the immense privilege of our family’s reunion today, and pledge to keep praying – and fighting – for George and Mahmoud’s swift release.”
“}]]
