U.S. offered to swap Guantanamo prisoner to free detained Americans in Afghanistan

In this April 17, 2019 file photo reviewed by U.S. military officials, a U.S. flag flies inside the razor wire of the Camp VI detention facility, Wednesday, April 17, 2019, in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The U.S. offered to trade a Guantanamo Bay prisoner in exchange for the release of three Americans held in Afghanistan, a source familiar told CNN.

The U.S. has been in discussions with the Taliban for months about a deal to free Ryan Corbett, George Glezmann and Mahmoud Habibi, all of whom were detained in Afghanistan in 2022. The Taliban has not acknowledged detaining Habibi.

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The U.S. presented an offer to trade Muhammad Rahim al Afghani, alleged to have been a “close associate” of Osama bin Laden, for the three Americans. The Taliban countered by asking for Rahim and two other people.

Roger Carstens, the top U.S. hostage envoy, was in Doha, Qatar, in recent days and presented a new and “significant” offer to the Taliban, according to another source. They did not provide details about the new offer.

In this April 17, 2019, photo, reviewed by U.S. military officials, the control tower is seen through the razor wire inside the Camp VI detention facility in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. U.S. military officials said Wednesday, March 8, 2023, they had returned a suspected al-Qaida operative long held at a military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to his home country, Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

The Biden administration has had success securing the release of Americans wrongfully detained abroad, most recently from China and Russia. However, the efforts to bring the Americans home from Afghanistan are likely to face political headwinds amplified by the deadly U.S. withdrawal in August 2021 that saw the Taliban come to power.

A spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council would not confirm the details of the offers, which were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

However, they said the administration is “working around the clock to ensure George, Ryan, and Mahmood’s safe return.”

They also touted the successes by the Biden administration in securing the release of Americans held abroad.

“President Biden and his team continue to work, often in partnership with key allies, to negotiate for the release of Americans held hostage or unjustly detained abroad so that they can be reunited with their families, and the administration will do so throughout the remainder of the term,” the spokesperson said.

The Biden administration does not acknowledge the Taliban as the official government of Afghanistan but has engaged with the group in Doha to discuss issues like human rights and the detained Americans.

“We are deeply concerned about the well-being of Americans unjustly detained in Afghanistan – Mahmood, Ryan, and George Glezmann – and raise their detentions in every engagement we have with the Taliban,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in August. “Bringing them home will continue to be a top priority for the United States as we work to obtain their release.”

Both Glezmann and Corbett have been declared wrongfully detained by the U.S. State Department. In August 2024, the FBI issued a request for information about Habibi.

Last March, Corbett’s wife, Anna, told CNN she was concerned for her husband’s wellbeing.

“His health is declining. His mental health is declining. And he is still alive but we don’t know how long and we need to bring him back home immediately,” she said at the time.

CNN’s Arlette Saenz contributed to this story.

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