White House says more than 30 Americans held hostage abroad

The U.S. government will now communicate with terrorist groups holding the more than 30 Americans currently hostage abroad, one of a slew of changes to the nation’s hostage policy that President Barack Obama announced Wednesday.

The U.S. government will stick to its “no concessions” policy – often incorrectly interpreted as “no negotiations” – while also allowing government officials going forward to talk with terrorist groups like ISIS that have kidnapped Americans, according to a presidential policy directive Obama outlined on Wednesday.

More than 30 Americans are currently held hostage abroad, Obama’s chief counterterrorism adviser Lisa Monaco, who oversaw the policy review, told reporters on Wednesday.

The tally includes those who are held hostage by terrorist groups as well as criminal gangs and cartels, according to a senior official, who said the government couldn’t provide a further breakdown for safety reasons.

READ: FBI assisted Weinstein family with ransom payment

The changes to the hostage policy, which also include the creation of an interagency “fusion cell” to streamline efforts to free American hostages and improve communication between the government and families, follow a months-long review of U.S. policy that included interviews with nearly two-dozen families of current and former U.S. hostages.

Obama also made it clear that the U.S. government will not prosecute families looking to pay ransoms to terrorist groups holding their loved ones hostage – a threat some families faced during their ordeals.

“No family of an American hostage has ever been prosecuted for paying ransom for their loved one. The last thing we should ever do is to add to a family’s pain with threats like that,” Obama said at the White House.

“The bottom line is this: When it comes to how our government works to recover hostages, we are changing how we do business,” he said.

The presidential directive issued by Obama reiterates U.S. policy “to deny hostage-takers the benefits of ransom, prisoner releases, policy changes, or other acts of concession.

“However, this policy does not preclude engaging in communications with hostage-takers,” the directive says.

Obama noted that many changes he ordered on Wednesday “are a direct result” of the families’ feedback and said that he considered the policy changes not just through the lens of president, but as a husband and father.

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Kim Dong Chul, a South Korean-born American citizen detained in North Korea, is escorted to his trial April 29 in Pyongyang. A North Korean court sentenced Kim to 10 years in prison for what it called acts of subversion and espionage. North Korea watchers interpret the detainment of Americans and other foreign citizens as a collection of bargaining chips by the reclusive regime.

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University of Virginia student Otto Frederick Warmbier was detained by North Korea after being accused of carrying out "a hostile act" against the government, state media reported. In March, he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for allegedly removing a political banner from a Pyongyang hotel.

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File photo/From Zero Point Zero

Jason Rezaian, The Washington Post's bureau chief in Tehran, was released January 16 as part of a prisoner swap. Rezaian was convicted by an Iranian Revolutionary Court in October, according to Iran's state-run media. Rezaian was reportedly facing up to 20 years, but the sentence was not specified. The journalist was taken into custody in July 2014 and later charged with espionage; the Post has denied all allegations against him. His wife, Yeganeh Salehi, also was detained in July 2014 but later released.

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Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen of Iranian birth, was freed as part of a prisoner swap that included Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian on January 16. Abedini was sentenced to eight years in prison in January 2013. He was accused of attempting to undermine the Iranian government and endangering national security by establishing home churches. He was detained in Iran on September 26, 2012, according to the American Center for Law and Justice.

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Courtesy Hekmati Family

Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine charged with spying, was freed as part of a prisoner swap that included Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian on January 16. An Iranian court threw out a 2011 death sentence for Hekmati, but he was secretly retried in Iran and convicted of "practical collaboration with the U.S. government," his sister told CNN on April 11. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, she said. Hekmati was detained in August 2011 during a visit to see his grandmother. His family and the Obama administration deny accusations he was spying for the CIA.

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Siamak Namazi, a Dubai-based businessman with dual U.S. and Iranian citizenship, was detained while visiting relatives in Tehran, the Wall Street Journal reported October 29, citing unnamed sources. The Washington Post also reported his detention, citing a family friend who spoke on condition of anonymity. The Post reported that it wasn't clear what Namazi is alleged to have done. His detention would bring to five the number of Americans detained or unaccounted for in the Islamic republic.

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Scott Darden was taken hostage by Houthi rebels in Yemen in March 2015. He was captured while working for New Orleans-based Transoceanic Development, according to a source close to his family.

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FBI

Retired FBI agent Robert Levinson has been missing since 2007. His family says he was working as a private investigator in Iran when he disappeared, and multiple reports suggest Levinson may have been working for the CIA. His family told CNN that they have long known that Levinson worked for the CIA, and they said it's time for the government to lay out the facts about Levinson's case. U.S. officials have consistently denied publicly that Levinson was working for the government, but they have repeatedly insisted that finding him and bringing him home is a "top" priority. The FBI increased its reward for information on Levinson from $1 million to $5 million.

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Mothers Linda Boyle, left, and Lyn Coleman hold photo of their married children, Joshua Boyle and Caitlin Coleman, who were kidnapped by the Taliban in late 2012. Coleman was pregnant when she was kidnapped and is believed to have had a child in captivity.

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Jailed since 2013 and sentenced to life for supporting the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Mohamed Soltan was eventually released, the U.S. Embassy in Cairo said in May 2015. Soltan's family denies he belonged to the Brotherhood. Soltan had been a dual U.S. and Egyptian citizen, but he renounced his Egyptian citizenship as a condition of his release.

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U.S. officials revealed in April 2015 that Warren Weinstein, a 73-year-old American aid worker that had been held hostage in Pakistan since August 2011, had been accidentally killed in a U.S. drone strike targeting al Qaeda.

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CNN

One of three Americans detained in North Korea, Jeffrey Edward Fowle was released and sent home, a State Department official told CNN in October 2014. Fowle was accused of leaving a Bible in a hotel where he was staying. North Korea announced Fowle's detention in June of that year, saying he had violated the law by acting "contrary to the purpose of tourism." Fowle told CNN: "I've admitted my guilt to the government and signed a statement to that effect and requested forgiveness from the people and the government of the DPRK."

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CNN

In May 2013, a North Korean court sentenced Kenneth Bae, a U.S. citizen, to 15 years of hard labor for committing "hostile acts" against the state. North Korea claimed Bae was part of a Christian plot to overthrow the regime. In a short interview with CNN in September 2014, Bae said he is working eight hours a day, six days a week at a labor camp. "Right now what I can say to my friends and family is, continue to pray for me," he said. After months in detention, he and fellow American detainee Matthew Todd Miller were released in November.

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North Korea

Miller, an American sentenced to six years of hard labor in North Korea, was one of three Americans who spoke to CNN's Will Ripley in September 2014 and implored the U.S. government for help. The 24-year-old was accused of tearing up his tourist visa and seeking asylum upon entry to North Korea.

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Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe/Getty Images

American journalist Peter Theo Curtis was handed over to U.N. peacekeepers in August 2014 after nearly two years in captivity. He is believed to have been captured in October 2012 and held by the al-Nusra Front, a Syrian rebel group with ties to al Qaeda.

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Benny Rogosnitzky via vinnews.com

Alan Gross, at right with Rabbi Arthur Schneier, was jailed while working as a subcontractor in Cuba in December 2009. Cuban authorities say Gross tried to set up illegal Internet connections on the island. Gross says he was just trying to help connect the Jewish community to the Internet. Former President Jimmy Carter and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson both traveled to Cuba on Gross' behalf. He was eventually released in December.

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U.S. Army

This undated image provided by the U.S. Army shows Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held by insurgents in Afghanistan since 2009. The White House announced Bergdahl's release on May 31, 2014. Bergdahl was released in exchange for five senior Taliban members held by the U.S. military. In March 2015, the U.S. military charged Bergdahl with one count each of "Desertion with Intent to Shirk Important or Hazardous Duty," and "Misbehavior Before The Enemy by Endangering the Safety of a Command, Unit or Place."

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U.S. tourist and Korean War veteran Merrill Newman arrives at the Beijing airport on December 7, 2013, after being released by North Korea. Newman was detained in October 2013 by North Korean authorities just minutes before he was to depart the country after visiting through an organized tour. His son Jeff Newman said the Palo Alto, California, man had all the proper paperwork and set up his trip through a North Korean-approved travel agency.

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Mexican authorities arrested Yanira Maldonado, a U.S. citizen, right, in May 2013, for alleged drug possession. She and her husband, Gary, were traveling from Mexico back to the United States when their bus was stopped and searched. She was released a few days later and is now back in the United States.

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North Korea has arrested Americans before, only to release them after a visit by a prominent dignitary. Journalists Laura Ling, center, and Euna Lee, to her left, spent 140 days in captivity after being charged with illegal entry to conduct a smear campaign. They were freed in 2009 after a trip by former President Bill Clinton.

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Darren McCollester/Getty Images

Former President Jimmy Carter negotiated the release of Aijalon Gomes, who was detained in 2010 after crossing into North Korea illegally from China. Analysts say high-level visits give Pyongyang a propaganda boost and a way to save face when it releases a prisoner.

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Kyodo/Landov

Detained in April 2011, Eddie Yong Su Jun was released by North Korea a month afterward. His alleged crime was not provided to the media. The American delegation that secured his freedom included Robert King, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues.

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PARK JI-HWAN/AFP/Getty Images

Without any apparent U.S. intervention, Robert Park was released by North Korea in 2010. The Christian missionary crossed into North Korea from China, carrying a letter asking Kim Jong Il to free political prisoners and resign. North Korea's state-run news agency said Park was released after an "admission and sincere repentance of his wrongdoings." Here, Park holds a photo of Kim and a malnourished child during a protest in Seoul.

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Michael Nagle/Getty Images

Josh Fattal, center; Sarah Shourd, left; and Shane Bauer were detained by Iran while hiking near the Iraq-Iran border in July 2009. Iran charged them with illegal entry and espionage. Shourd was released on bail for medical reasons in September 2010; she never returned to face her charges. Bauer and Fattal were convicted in August 2011, but the next month they were released on bail and had their sentences commuted.

Photos: Americans detained abroad

Stephanie Kuykendal/Getty Images

Haleh Esfandiari, an Iranian-American scholar, was detained at Iran's Evin Prison, spending months in solitary confinement before Iran released her on bail in August 2007. Esfandiari was visiting her ailing mother in Tehran when she was arrested and charged with harming Iran's national security.

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KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images

Sixteen Americans were among the dozens arrested in December 2011 when Egypt raided the offices of 10 nongovernmental organizations that it said received illegal foreign financing and were operating without a public license. Many of the employees posted bail and left the country after a travel ban was lifted a few months later. Robert Becker, right, chose to stay and stand trial. He spent two years in prison and has since returned to the United States.

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IMDB.com

Filmmaker Timothy Tracy was arrested in Venezuela in April 2013 on allegations of funding opponents of newly elected President Nicolas Maduro, successor to the late Hugo Chavez. Tracy went to Venezuela to make a documentary about the political division gripping the country. He was released in June 2013.

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“If my family were at risk obviously I would move heaven and Earth to get those loved ones back,” he said. “I’m making it clear that our top priority is the safe and rapid recovery of American hostages,” he added.

But Obama also noted that he would not authorize the government to make ransom payments, noting that it would put “in danger more Americans” by incentivizing kidnappings.

The parents of James Foley, the first American hostage beheaded by ISIS, applauded the “in-depth” work of the hostage policy review team and thanked the leaders of that group in a statement on Wednesday.

And they pledged to continue to work to improve U.S. policy on the matter to help American hostages still held abroad.

“Jim wanted to make a difference in the world. Perhaps his horrific death was necessary to awaken the American public and our government,” John and Diane Foley said.

The payment of ransoms to terror groups has long been tolerated in many instances, though it is technically illegal. The administration has looked the other way when families of Americans held overseas have paid ransoms.

But several families – including the family of James Foley – have said they were threatened with prosecution as they considered making ransom payments. A member of the National Security Council staff had threatened Foley’s family with prosecution during their ordeal.

Lawmakers ‘disappointed’ with hostage policy reforms push legislation

House Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday said he feared the erosion of the U.S.’s policy of not paying ransoms and the principle of not negotiating with terrorists.

“I’ve not seen the report nor have I seen an analysis of it, but we have had a policy in the United States for over 200 years of not paying ransom and not negotiating with terrorists and the concern that I have is that by lifting that long held principle you could be endangering more Americans here and overseas,” Boehner said.

U.S. policy actually does not prohibit negotiations, but prohibits making “substantive concessions” to captors in the process.

Family members of former hostages met Tuesday with officials at the National Counterterrorism Center to learn of the administration’s decisions after a months-long review of U.S. policies in dealing with American citizens held captive.

In interviews with the hostage policy review group, families expressed concerns that officials displayed a lack of compassion and the new presidential directive explicitly directs officials to “treat all families and hostages equitably and fairly while respecting their dignity and privacy.”

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Hostages killed in U.S. drone strike

“All interactions with the family should be undertaken with the utmost professionalism, empathy, and sensitivity to the psychological and emotional disruption the family is experiencing and should be informed by the family’s needs, wishes, and rights,” according to the policy directive.

Obama’s Wednesday executive order establishes the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, which officials described as a full-time, inter-agency body with the goal of coordinating the U.S. government’s response to hostage-takings.

A senior FBI official will serve as the taskforce’s first director, responsible for overseeing hostage recovery efforts and the fusion cell’s office will be housed in the FBI.

The cell will include officials from the State, Treasury, Defense and Justice Departments as well as the CIA and Director of National Intelligence.

The order also created two new positions: a family engagement coordinator to act as a single point of contact for families of hostages, and the designation of a senior representative from the State Department for diplomatic outreach abroad.

The review process has relied heavily on the input of former hostages and their families. Administration officials conducted over 40 interviews with 24 families and former hostages through three rounds of feedback.

Bergen: How to free American hostages

The administration also consulted with five intermediaries, three international organizations, two hostage experts and four foreign countries as well as members of Congress, including Reps. Duncan Hunter, R-California, and John Delaney, D-Maryland. Delaney’s constituents include the family of Warren Weinstein, who was inadvertently killed in a drone strike while held captive by al-Qaeda.

The interviews with former hostages or families took place in their hometowns or in Washington. The review was led by Lisa Monaco, Obama’s top counterterrorism adviser.

Monaco sent letters to 82 families and former hostages dating back to 2001, inviting them to be part of the review process and to provide their views based on their personal experiences.

“We understand this is incredibly difficult and painful for the families and we appreciate their feedback,” a senior official said. “(Their feedback) has been invaluable and helped us examine ways to improve our processes and communicate with the families most effectively to achieve our shared objective of ensuring the safe return of a loved one.”

READ: Bowe Bergdahl rescuer warns of ‘broken’ hostage system

Some families, like that of James Foley, an American journalist beheaded by ISIS last August, have been critical of the administration’s handling of hostage situations. His mother, Diane Foley, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper in September that she was “embarrassed and appalled” by how the U.S. government dealt with her son’s case.

“I think our efforts to get Jim freed were an annoyance” to the U.S. government, Foley said. “It didn’t seem to be in (the U.S.) strategic interest.”

The wife of Warren Weinstein, an American aid worker accidentally killed by a U.S. drone strike in April, said on Tuesday that during her husband’s captivity, “elements of the U.S. government fell short.”

“We hope to be the last family that fails to receive the level of coordinated government support that those who serve abroad deserve when trouble finds them,” Elaine Weinstein said.

“We believe the creation of a fusion cell is a good idea, but we believe establishing a sole individual with overall policy responsibilities for safe hostage recovery would have been best positioned at the National Security Council, since that would not only give the position more inter-agency coordinating authority but also ensure that those debating counter-terrorism activities and hostage recovery efforts were sitting in the same room,” she said.

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) speaks during a news conference held by House Republicans on 'Protecting America's Veterans' at the U.S. Capitol May 29, 2014 in Washington, DC.

Hunter, who pushed the administration to conduct the review, was similarly skeptical of early details about the hostage review.

“The changes offered up by the White House prove that neither the right questions were asked nor were any lessons learned,” Hunter said. “Wholesale changes are needed, but what’s being put forward is nothing more than window dressing, I fear.”

He continued, “It’s a pathetic response to a serious problem that has plagued the ability of the U.S. to successfully recover Americans held captive in the post-9/11 era.”

Hunter said giving the FBI authority over the fusion cell is a mistake, claiming the agency is ill-equipped to handle foreign hostage crises.

The team that carried out the administration’s hostage review was comprised of officials from the Departments of Defense, State, Justice, Treasury and the intelligence community.

An administration official said the U.S. government has observed a “significant shift” in hostage-takings abroad by terrorists and criminal groups, requiring the policy to also evolve with new and more pronounced challenges.

“Terrorist groups have become increasingly willing to engage in publicized and repugnant murders of hostages if they are unable to extract concessions,” the administration official said. “They deliberately target private citizens as well as government officials to garner media attention and attempt to extract political and financial concessions.”

CNN’s Kevin Liptak and Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report.