U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio officially designated Afghanistan as a “state sponsor of wrongful detention” on March 10, 2026, citing the Taliban’s ongoing practice of detaining Americans and other foreign nationals unjustly. Rubio called on the Taliban to end what he described as “terrorist tactics” involving kidnappings for ransom or political concessions.
Calls for Release of Detained Americans
Rubio specifically demanded the release of Dennis Coyle and Mahmoud Habibi, two Americans currently held by the Taliban. Coyle, 64, has been detained without charges for over a year while working as an academic researcher supporting Afghan language communities. Habibi, 38, a U.S. citizen born in Afghanistan and former director of civil aviation, was arrested in Kabul in August 2022. His current whereabouts remain unknown, and the Taliban has denied detaining him.
The U.S. State Department and FBI reported that the Taliban detained multiple employees of the Kabul-based Asia Consultancy Group, where Habibi worked, but most have since been released.
Potential Travel Restrictions and Taliban Response
Sources indicated that the U.S. government could impose restrictions on Afghan travel using U.S. passports if Taliban does not comply with demands to end wrongful detentions. At present, such passport limitations have only been applied to North Korea.
The Taliban called Rubio’s designation “regrettable” and expressed a preference to resolve the issue through dialogue.
Context and Related Actions
The Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021 following the U.S. military withdrawal that ended the two-decade conflict. This designation follows Rubio’s recent similar action against Iran for wrongful detention of U.S. citizens. Rubio has linked such designations with possible travel restrictions and diplomatic pressure aimed at securing the release of detained Americans.
For more stories on this topic, visit our category page.
