Donald Trump Signs Executive Order to Penalise Countries That Wrongfully Detain Americans

US President Donald Trump is tightening policies to protect Americans abroad with a new executive order signed on Friday, according to a report published by The Associated Press. The measure, which will use the “state sponsors of wrongful detention” designation, equips the US government to impose penalties aimed at foreign governments that unjustly detain American citizens.

What the Executive Order Does

Signed at the White House, the order empowers the US Secretary of State to label countries as ‘State Sponsors of Wrongful Detention’. The designation will effectively mean that the US administration can bring sanctions similar to those used against state sponsors of terrorism, including travel restrictions, economic penalties, visa bans, and export controls.

“Like the State Sponsor of Terrorism determination, no nation should want to end up on this list,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly said in a statement, per AP.

According to the report, Sebastian Gorka, senior director for counterterrorism operations at the National Security Council, told Trump, “With this EO you are signing today, you are drawing a line in the sand that US citizens will not be used as bargaining chips.”

The order, the report said, also provides countries with a chance to reverse the designation if they release detainees or show a clear shift in policy.

Who Might Be Targeted?

While no country has been formally named, senior Trump administration officials told the news agency that some nations such as China, Iran, Afghanistan, and Russia could be considered. The objective is to create a “really, really strong motivation” for nations to avoid using Americans as leverage or delay their release, they further told the publication.

Building on Past Successes

Pointing to results, the Trump team touted the home return of 72 Americans in just 228 days, which they say nearly matches the total of wrongful detainees returned during the previous administration’s four-year term.

“We’ve gotten a lot of people out and we’ll continue,” Trump told reporters. Recent instances include prisoner exchanges in Venezuela and Russia, where multiple Americans were freed in recent months.

Praising the federal action, Global advocacy group Global Reach said the move will effectively “put real teeth behind the US government’s efforts to bring home detained Americans and deter offending nations from engaging in ‘hostage diplomacy.'”

A Strategic Move Ahead of the UN General Assembly

With the upcoming UN General Assembly session, analysts say the new order offers added leverage, possibly even blocking entry of officials from targeted nations. A senior aide told AP that travel restrictions are “one of the most powerful tools we have for regimes who think that they can use our citizens as leveraging tools against the United States.”