Marc Fogel, an American teacher arrested in Russia for possession of marijuana, was released from jail after Donald Trump’s envoy traveled to Moscow. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff’s trip to Russia is the first by an American official since the invasion of Ukraine.
Fogel was released from Russian prison on Tuesday, according to the White House. “Today, President Donald J. Trump and his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are able to announce that Mr. Witkoff is leaving Russian airspace with Marc Fogel, an American who was detained by Russia,” a statement posted by National Security Adviser Mike Walt said.
It continues, “President Trump, Steve Witkoff and the President’s advisors negotiated an exchange that serves as a show of good faith from the Russians and a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine.”
Fogel worked at the US Embassy in Moscow before he was arrested in 2021 for the possession of marijuana. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison and served three. In 2024, the Biden administration listed Fogel as wrongfully detained.
Witkoff is the first American official to travel to Russia since former CIA Director William Burns visited Moscow in November 2021.
While the White House and Kremlin have not released details on the exchange or what was discussed, during his presser with the King of Jordan, Trump noted, “We’re making good progress there. I think, I really think we’re making some very good progress.”
On the campaign trail, Trump pledged to bring the war in Ukraine to a close on his first day in office. However, it does not appear that the President has made significant progress towards that goal, and administration officials are now saying it will take several months to end the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump said he had dispatched Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to Ukraine to meet President Zelensky. “This War MUST and WILL END SOON — Too much Death and Destruction. The US has spent BILLIONS of Dollars Globally, with little to show. WHEN AMERICA IS STRONG, THE WORLD IS AT PEACE,” he posted on Truth Social.
Fogel is not the first American who was released from a government in Washington’s crosshairs. Earlier this month, Trump’s crisis envoy Ric Grenell traveled to Venezuela and secured the release of six Americans.
Following the meeting with Grenell, Caracas signaled it hoping to build on the positive momentum. Several days later, Secretary of State Marco Rubio seized one of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s planes. Venezuela denounced the seizure as “brazen theft.”
