Kuwait has released a group of American prisoners, including veterans and military contractors who had been jailed for years on drug-related charges, in a move seen as a goodwill gesture between the two allied nations, a representative for the detainees said Wednesday.
The release follows a recent regional visit by Adam Boehler, the Trump administration’s top hostage envoy, and comes amid ongoing U.S. efforts to bring home American citizens imprisoned abroad.
Six of the freed prisoners were accompanied on a flight from Kuwait to New York by Jonathan Franks, a consultant specializing in cases involving American hostages and detainees. Franks had been in Kuwait to assist in securing their release.
“My clients and their families are grateful to the Kuwaiti government for this kind humanitarian gesture,” Franks said in a statement. He added that his clients maintain their innocence and that additional Americans he represents are also expected to be released by Kuwait in the near future.
The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The names of the released individuals were not made public.
Kuwait did not acknowledge the release on its state-run KUNA news agency and did not respond to requests for comment. Prisoner releases often coincide with the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and the Eid al-Fitr holiday in many Muslim-majority countries.
Kuwait, a strategic U.S. ally bordering Iraq and Saudi Arabia, hosts approximately 13,500 American troops at Camp Arifjan and Ali al-Salem Air Base. The two nations have maintained strong military ties since the U.S. led the 1991 Gulf War to expel Iraqi forces after Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait.
Despite their close alliance, Kuwait has imprisoned multiple American military contractors on drug charges, with some detainees held for years. Families of those detained have alleged mistreatment and abuse in the Kuwaiti prison system, where alcohol is banned and drug laws are strictly enforced. Some have accused Kuwaiti authorities of fabricating charges and evidence against American detainees—allegations that Kuwait’s government has not acknowledged.
The U.S. State Department warns that drug offenses in Kuwait can carry long prison sentences and, in some cases, the death penalty. While U.S. military personnel in Kuwait are generally subject to American laws under defense cooperation agreements, these protections typically do not extend to civilian contractors.
Since returning to the White House, President Donald Trump’s administration has focused on securing the release of Americans detained abroad. His administration recently arranged a prisoner swap with Russia to secure the release of American schoolteacher Marc Fogel and announced the release of a U.S. citizen imprisoned in Belarus.
The Americans freed from Kuwait on Wednesday had not been officially designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained—a classification that allows cases to be handled by the administration’s special presidential envoy for hostage affairs. Advocates for Americans jailed abroad are hopeful that the Trump administration will adopt a broader approach to securing the release of detainees who have not been given wrongful detention status.
“The sad reality is that these Americans were left in prison for years due to a misguided policy that had, before President Trump took office, effectively abandoned Americans abroad who hadn’t been designated wrongfully detained,” Franks said in a statement.
“These releases demonstrate what is achievable when the U.S. government prioritizes bringing Americans home,” he added.
