Washington D.C. – WDET 101.9FM, March 27, 2025
Whelan, who was wrongfully detained in a Russian labor camp for more than five years on false espionage charges, returned to the U.S. last August.
Using hostages as bargaining chips remains a favorite tactic of some nations and terrorist groups.
Negotiating their release is often tricky.
It took seven countries cooperating last summer for the U.S. and Russia to complete the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War.
Among those exchanged was 55-year-old former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.
But since returning home, the Michigan native says he’s still felt trapped.
Only this time it’s in a web of governmental bureaucracy.
