The Friday Brief by Girl Friday
The Friday Brief is a news podcast by Girl Friday, a boutique global affairs firm in Washington, D.C. We believe awareness impels action for a world of good.
The Friday Brief by Girl Friday
Spy Swaps & Hostage Talks
In this episode, we talk about the Biden administration's final efforts to free American hostages abroad, including three people held in Afghanistan. Will the Trump administration continue existing hostage negotiations? What will happen to Americans detained in Venezuela right now? We also cover the latest talks between Israel and Hamas and discuss one of the most heroic spy swaps in history, led by James B. Donovan.
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Welcome to The Friday Brief, a news podcast by Girl Friday. I’m Phoenix Ricks, the CEO of Girl Friday and your host. This is your brief for January 15, 2025.
There are just several days left in the Biden administration, but their team is still working hard to help Americans being held hostage abroad. Hostage negotiations, for better and for worse, will undoubtedly be part of Joe Biden's political legacy. This week, Reuters reported that President Biden spoke with the families of three Americans who have been detained in Afghanistan by the Taliban since 2022. During those conversations, President Biden stressed his desire to bring Americans who have been wrongfully detained back home.
The Biden administration has been negotiating for the release of those three Americans for months. Their names are Ryan Corbett, George Glezmann, and Mahmood Habibi. Biden’s proposal involves exchanging them for Muhammad Rahim al-Afghani, who Reuters notes is “a high-profile prisoner held in Guantanamo Bay.” The Wall Street Journal elaborated further to say he is, according to the U.S. government, allegedly a senior al-Quaeda aide. From what I’ve read, the three American hostages in Afghanistan were not held for engaging in any wrongdoing, and it is critical they are released soon.
On the Free Ryan Corbett website, his family says, in part, "Westerners released from the prison where Ryan is being held report that he is in deteriorating health." On the James Foley Foundation's website, you can read more about Corbett, Glezmann, and Habibi's stories. The foundation’s mission is “to advocate for American hostages and wrongful detainees held abroad and promote journalist safety.”
If the last year plus of heartbreaking hostage negotiations for the hostages in Gaza have made you feel despondent, please know that there’s renewed hope for those hostages. The BBC and CBS reported yesterday that Israel and Hamas are apparently close to a deal that could end the horrific siege on Gaza and include the release of hostages from Gaza and Palestinian prisoners from Israel. CBS reviewed a document outlining drafted phases of this proposed deal, including ensuring that Gaza is again open for humanitarian aid organizations.
Hope for hostages is often driven by pressure from dedicated advocates. If this is of interest to you, I encourage you to look at the Get Involved section of the Foley Foundation’s website. They list volunteer opportunities ranging from trauma counseling to graphic design. They also note the need for in-kind donations, like airline travel for hostage families and advocates.
The White House told Reuters that Biden has brought home more than 75 Americans who were detained around the world. This includes Americans who were held in Myanmar, China, Gaza, Haiti, Iran, Russia, Rwanda, and Venezuela. His administration also brought home all Americans unjustly held in Afghanistan before the U.S. pulled the military out of the country. That is an incredible part of Biden’s legacy, and it is a shame these stories weren’t widely shared throughout his time in office.
Working on hostage issues is nothing short of heroic. It takes skilled, patient teams willing to shoulder the work of the negotiation and the emotional toll of the case. One of my favorite historical dramas about an actual hostage negotiation is Bridge of Spies with Tom Hanks. Whenever I see ongoing hostage talks, I think of the cool, calm, and collected negotiator he portrayed, James B. Donovan. He was a Harvard Law graduate well-known for giving legal representation to Rudolf Abel, an accused Soviet spy. This was definitely a risky and unpopular decision in the late 1950s. So, why did he do it? In 2016, the Harvard Gazette ran a piece on Donovan called Star Negotiator. It says, "Donovan was no fan of communism, but he felt it was his patriotic duty to give Abel a strong defense and thereby demonstrate the fairness and integrity of the U.S. legal system." The Harvard Gazette included this brilliant quote from Donovan: "If the free world is not faithful to its own moral code, there remains no society for which others may hunger.”
Thanks to Donovan's moral code, which led him to represent Abel, he was uniquely positioned to pull off one of the most harrowing 'spy swaps' in history, by exchanging Abel for two Americans. He didn't stop there, though. Not long after, he worked tirelessly for the release of prisoners in Cuba. The New York Times says by the end of his negotiations with Castro, Donovan had "won the release of more than 1,100 prisoners." He also secured special permission for 9,700 of their relatives and others to leave Cuba. This was all negotiated in exchange for $53 million worth of food and medicine from the United States. In a 2015 Fordham Magazine article, the author notes that the Chicago Tribune once called Donovan a “real-life combination of James Bond and Perry Mason.”
Will the next administration take that same moral and intellectual approach? Because Donald Trump will enter office and need to continue those and other hostage negotiations. For example, the AP reported that Venezuela’s Maduro likely has 10 Americans detained. One is David Estrella, a 62-year-old New Yorker. His ex-wife said, “It’s like mourning someone in life. We don’t know anything about where he is or how he’s doing. Without being able to talk to him, to hear his voice, so he knows all we’re trying to do for him, makes it a lot worse.”
If any of this has made you rethink a trip, my suggestion is to remember that the most dire hostage situations you see on the news are not common incidents for most people on travel, but it is always a good idea to ensure you know where your country’s missions are located. When I travel abroad, I know where the U.S. embassies and consulates are. This isn’t just a safety net for extreme issues; your problem could be much more straightforward.
For instance, I was robbed abroad - by an American, I should note - and needed a new passport. That country’s police were incredibly helpful, but I still needed a new passport from the nearest U.S. consulate to travel to my next destination and then back to the United States. If you have a serious medical emergency, the same applies. You might need your country’s diplomats to get involved with translations or other assistance. This works in reverse, of course, too. If you’re coming to the U.S., I strongly recommend knowing the location of your nation’s embassies and consulates here as well.
If physical security is a top concern about your upcoming travel to another country, please visit your country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs website to see if there are any travel warnings. If you’re an American, you’ll go to travel.state.gov, run by the U.S. Department of State, to look for advisories. For the remainder of the week, we'll keep chatting about some of the Biden administration's final initiatives and the potential legacies of key figures in the administration.
And that concludes your brief for today. Make sure you don’t miss an episode! Follow Dear Girl Friday on Instagram, where we post podcast episode summaries and sources. You can sign up for The Friday Brief newsletter on deargirlfriday.com. Until next time, I’m Phoenix Ricks signing off from Washington, D.C. Let’s work together for a world of good.
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