Three Americans freed as part of prisoner swap with China

The White House said Wednesday it had secured the release of three Americans who had been detained in China as part of a prisoner swap with Beijing.

A spokesperson for the National Security Council confirmed in a statement that Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung had been freed.

“Soon they will return and be reunited with their families for the first time in many years,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

“Thanks to this Administration’s efforts and diplomacy with the PRC, all of the wrongfully detained Americans in the PRC are home,” the spokesperson added.

The three U.S. citizens were released in exchange for an undisclosed number of Chinese nationals who were being detained in the United States.

Li and Swidan had both been designated by the State Department as wrongfully detained. Swidan was arrested in 2012 on drug-related charges, while Li had been held since 2016 on espionage charges.

Politico first reported on the prisoner swap.

Developing