Trump Moves to Blacklist Nations for Wrongful US Detentions
US President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order to create a blacklist of countries accused of unjustly detaining American citizens, introducing sweeping penalties including travel bans. The order establishes a new designation — “state sponsors of wrongful detention” — mirroring the existing US list of state sponsors of terrorism. “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,” Trump aide Sebastian Gorka told reporters in the Oval Office. The Trump administration did not immediately disclose the countries likely to be listed, but a senior US official confirmed that China, Iran, and Afghanistan were under review for what Washington calls “persistent hostage diplomacy.” Countries designated under the new system could face sanctions, export controls, and visa bans for officials complicit in wrongful imprisonment. […]
