United States President, Donald Trump, on Friday introduced a new executive order establishing a “state sponsor of wrongful detention” designation aimed at penalizing foreign governments and groups that unjustly detain U.S. citizens.
According to senior administration officials, the measure will serve as a powerful new instrument designed to both deter and resolve cases of Americans being held captive overseas.
“We’ve gotten a lot of people out and we’ll continue,” Trump remarked during the Oval Office signing ceremony.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio hailed the initiative as an “unprecedented action to impose new consequences on those who wrongfully detain Americans abroad.”
Rubio explained that the designation carries potential “severe penalties,” including “economic sanctions, visa restrictions, foreign assistance restrictions, and travel restrictions for U.S. passport holders.”
“No nation should want to end up on this list,” he warned. “The bottom line: Anyone who uses an American as a bargaining chip will pay the price.”
Officials clarified that the new classification could target not only recognized governments accused of holding U.S. nationals but also entities that control territory, such as the Taliban.
It may further apply to states that back groups engaged in wrongful detentions.
The secretary of state has been granted authority to apply and remove the designation, depending on whether an offending government or entity shows improvement.
Ahead of the announcement, administration figures stressed that the order broadens Washington’s leverage in confronting regimes or groups involved in detaining Americans.
Though the administration did not provide a specific timeline, one senior official emphasized that implementation would come swiftly.
“The point of the president signing this executive order is that there will be action,” the official stated.
The initiative has been likened to the “State Sponsor of Terrorism” label, which carries extensive consequences for countries that repeatedly support terrorism.
“For those countries or those state actors that hold Americans, there’s going to be a massive cost to them,” another official asserted.
Officials also suggested the designation could apply to a wide range of nations, from adversaries like Iran to global powers such as China.