The number of Americans who are wrongfully held by state actors such as China, Iran and Russia has seen a dramatic increase compared to a decade ago, according to a new study that finds a growing list of nations are targeting U.S. nationals to exert political leverage over Washington.
The study, released Wednesday by the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, details how a practice once primarily carried out by terrorist organizations and other militant groups has increasingly become a tool of adversarial governments, resulting in the detention of everyone from WNBA star Brittney Griner in Russia to others like Marine Corps veteran Matthew Heath in Venezuela.
