Joe Biden to sign an executive order to bring American hostages home

• President Joe Biden will sign an executive order on Tuesday targeting countries that wrongfully detain Americans abroad.
• The State Department will update its travel advisory risk indicator to include a “D” for wrongful detention abroad.
• China, Iran, Russia, Burma, Korea, and Venezuela will have an “E” for “elevated risk”.

President Joe Biden will sign an executive order on Tuesday authorizing the United States to impose sanctions on foreign nations that wrongfully detain Americans while also increasing transparency for hostage families, including intelligence sharing, in an effort to bring Americans home.

Along with the new executive order, the State Department will update its travel advisory risk indicator to include a “D” for wrongful detention abroad, in an effort to inform Americans and highlight countries with a “elevated risk” of wrongful detention.

According to senior administration officials, the State Department will slap a “D” indicator on China, Iran, Russia, Burma, Korea, and Venezuela on Tuesday.

According to a senior administration official, the president’s executive order, “Bolstering Efforts to Return Hostages and Wrongfully Detained United States Nationals,” will help to expand the “tool kit to help return American hostages and wrongful detainees.”

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“Foreign states that engage in wrongful detention threaten the integrity of the international political system, and moreover, the safety of U.S. nationals and others abroad,” the official said, stressing the U.S. government’s “unwavering commitment to bringing home Americans held hostage and wrongfully detained.”

According to the official, the executive order will also allow the US government to “impose costs on the perpetrators and provide greater transparency.”

The official said costs include financial sanctions, visa bans, and other measures. According to the official, the sanctions can be imposed on the perpetrator regardless of whether the individual is a terrorist or a state actor.

“We use sanctions authority with the primary focus to secure a loved one’s release,” the official said. “Using sanctions may not always secure a loved one’s release, but families of those held know their case best.”

The official explained, that the executive order is based on the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act, a bipartisan bill that increased US government resources for the return of Americans held hostage or unlawfully detained abroad.

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“This executive order reinforces U.S. government efforts to support the families of American hostages by bolstering engagement with families, including sharing intelligence information and government efforts to secure the release and return,” the official said.

“This isn’t a substitute,” the official added. “It is an addition to create transparency, impose costs and, overall, try to prevent the next set of families going through this horrible ordeal.”

The executive order comes as the Biden administration continues its efforts to free WNBA player Brittney Griner, who has been detained in Russia since February.

Griner was arrested in February for allegedly bringing cannabis-derived oils in vape cartridges through a Moscow airport.

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