US contractor freed by Taliban in swap for drug trafficker

An American contractor, Mark Frerichs, has been freed after talks between the United States and the Taliban. He was abducted in January of 2020 in Kabul

Bashir Noorzai, prison, speaks during his release ceremony, at the Intercontinental Hotel, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. Noorzai, a notorious drug lord and member of the Taliban, told reporters in Kabul on Monday that he spent 17 years and six months in a U.S. prison. Taliban-appointed Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said Monday that a released American, in what appears to have been part of a swap, was Mark Frerichs, a Navy veteran and civilian contractor kidnapped in Afghanistan in 2020. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Taliban fighters and supporters attend a release ceremony for Bashir Noorzai, a senior Taliban detainee held at an American prison, at the Intercontinental Hotel, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. Noorzai, a notorious drug lord and member of the Taliban, told reporters in Kabul on Monday that he spent 17 years and six months in a U.S. prison. Taliban-appointed Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said Monday that a released American, in what appears to have been part of a swap, was Mark Frerichs, a Navy veteran and civilian contractor kidnapped in Afghanistan in 2020. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)  A Taliban fighter stands guard before the release ceremony of Bashir Noorzai, a senior Taliban detainee held in a U.S. prison, at the Intercontinental Hotel, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. Noorzai, a notorious drug lord and member of the Taliban, told reporters in Kabul on Monday that he spent 17 years and six months in a U.S. prison. Taliban-appointed Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said Monday that the released American, in what appears to have been part of a swap, was Mark Frerichs, a Navy veteran and civilian contractor kidnapped in Afghanistan in 2020. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban-appointed Foreign Minister, speaks during the release ceremony of Bashir Noorzai, a senior Taliban detainee held in an American prison, at the Intercontinental Hotel, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. Noorzai, a notorious drug lord and member of the Taliban, told reporters in Kabul on Monday that he spent 17 years and six months in a U.S. prison. Muttaqi said Monday that a released American, in what appears to have been part of a swap, was Mark Frerichs, a Navy veteran and civilian contractor kidnapped in Afghanistan in 2020. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Bashir Noorzai, right, a senior Taliban detainee held in an American prison, talks to Acting Minister of Defense Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, during a release ceremony, at the Intercontinental Hotel, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. Noorzai, a notorious drug lord and member of the Taliban, told reporters in Kabul on Monday that he spent 17 years and six months in a U.S. prison. Taliban-appointed Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said Monday that a released American, in what appears to have been part of a swap, was Mark Frerichs, a Navy veteran and civilian contractor kidnapped in Afghanistan in 2020. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

The exchange is one of the most significant prisoner swaps to take place under the Biden administration, coming five months after a deal with Russia that brought home Marine veteran Trevor Reed. Though his case has received less public attention than those of some other Americans held abroad, including WNBA star Brittney Griner and corporate security executive Paul Whelan — who are both held in Russia and whose relatives met with President Joe Biden on Friday — U.S. officials said the deal for Frerichs was the result of months of quiet negotiations.

Those discussions gained new momentum in June when Biden agreed to grant Noorzai relief from his life sentence, setting the stage for what one administration official described as a "very narrow window of opportunity this month" to complete the deal.