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The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, announced on Monday the designation of Afghanistan as a "State Sponsor of Unjust Detention", accusing the Taliban of using American citizens as a tool for political pressure.
“Today I designate Afghanistan as a state sponsoring unjust detentions. The Taliban continue to use terrorist tactics to gain political concessions, but this will not work under this administration,” Rubio wrote on his official account on X.
The head of U.S. diplomacy demanded the immediate release of Dennis Coyle and Mahmood Habibi, as well as all Americans that Washington considers unjustly detained in Afghanistan.
Rubio also urged the Taliban regime to end what he termed hostage diplomacy. "The Taliban must free Dennis Coyle, Mahmood Habibi, and all Americans unjustly detained in Afghanistan," he stated.
The designation is part of a blacklist created by an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in September, targeting governments accused of detaining foreign citizens to obtain diplomatic or financial concessions.
DW reported that U.S. officials also warned that Afghanistan is not a safe destination for U.S. citizens and noted that Washington is considering possible restrictions on the use of U.S. passports to travel to the country.
Iran and Afghanistan in the spotlight of U.S. foreign policy.
The decision to include Afghanistan on this list comes amid a context of rising tension in the U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and Central Asia.
On February 27, Washington designated Iran with the same category of "State sponsor of wrongful detention." The measure came just one day before the United States and Israel launched attacks against the Islamic Republic.
The U.S. administration believes that several governments are using the detention of foreigners as a tool for geopolitical pressure.
Rubio insists that these practices constitute a form of coercion, and Washington will counter them with sanctions and diplomatic pressure.
In the case of Afghanistan, attention is focused on the situation of Mahmood Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman and former head of the country's civil aviation authority, who disappeared in Kabul in August 2022. The Taliban deny having him in custody, but the United States has offered a reward of five million dollars for information leading to his release.
Another case is that of Dennis Coyle, an American academic arrested in January 2025. Washington is also demanding information about the whereabouts of writer Paul Overby, who went missing in 2014 near the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Diplomatic pressure and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan
The pressure from Washington has also extended to the United Nations. The U.S. ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, recently expressed his government's skepticism regarding the Taliban's willingness to fulfill their international commitments.
During a Security Council meeting, Waltz called for a review of international assistance aimed at Afghanistan, noting that the Taliban regime continues to restrict fundamental rights, especially those of women.
"When discussing the expansion of the UN's presence in Afghanistan, let us bear in mind that the Taliban resort to hostage diplomacy, manipulate humanitarian aid, brutally abuse women, and allow their people to suffer," stated Waltz.
In recent years, Taliban authorities have imposed rules that severely limit women's participation in public life, even preventing many women from studying or working in offices and institutions.
These restrictions come as Afghanistan faces one of the most severe humanitarian crises in the world. Estimates from the World Food Programme indicate that nearly one-third of the population suffers from severe food insecurity.
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