President Joe Biden released a statement on Sunday marking two years since former Navy SEAL Mark Frerichs went missing and was believed to be captured by the Taliban.
Biden’s full statement is below:
Two years ago tomorrow, U.S. Navy veteran Mark Frerichs was taken hostage in Afghanistan. A civil engineer, he spent a decade helping the people of Afghanistan. He has done nothing wrong. And yet, for two years the Taliban has held him captive.
Mark is a native of Illinois. A son. A brother. And his family has now endured two gut-wrenching years—praying for his safety, wondering where and how he is, aching for his return.
Threatening the safety of Americans or any innocent civilians is always unacceptable, and hostage-taking is an act of particular cruelty and cowardice. The Taliban must immediately release Mark before it can expect any consideration of its aspirations for legitimacy. This is not negotiable.
To Mark, and to all the Americans being held hostage and wrongfully detained overseas, and to all their families and friends who are enduring the nightmare of their absence: know that my administration will continue to work steadfastly until every American being unjustly held against their will comes home.
Frerichs was captured by Taliban-aligned militants on Jan. 31, 2020 in Khost, Afghanistan, according to Newsweek, who first reported the news in February 2020. U.S. officials believe the Haqqani network, which is a group aligned with the Taliban, orchestrated the operation. The CIA once backed the Haqqani network because it fought against Soviet attempts to establish a satellite state in Afghanistan.
Frerichs was working in Afghanistan as a U.S. government contractor at International Logistical Support. Following his disappearance, Navy SEALs raided a village and detained suspected members of the Haqqani network, which is not considered to normally kidnap victims or hold them hostage for ransom.
“The first 96 hours is crucial,” an anonymous senior U.S. government official briefed on the case told the Associated Press in May 2020. “If they’re not recovered in the first few days, it becomes harder every minute after.”
The cold winter weather made it much more difficult for the U.S. military to search the landscape for Frerichs, but once it cleared, they were able to conduct a search for him, although it was ultimately unsuccessful.
Not long after his disappearance, Frerichs’ father, Art, called on then-President Donald Trump’s administration to act to secure his son’s return.
“I just need them to tell their people negotiating with the Taliban that America won’t lift a finger until my son comes home. He’s a veteran. This is America. We don’t leave people behind,” he said in a statement at the time.
Shortly after Frerichs’ disappearance, the Taliban denied involvement.
“We don’t have any information about the missing American,” Taliban political spokesman Sohail Shaheen said at the time. The Taliban notified U.S. officials “formally and informally” that they are not holding Frerichs, a source told the Associated Press at the time.
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