A prisoner swap between the United States and Afghanistan's Taliban freed two Americans in exchange for a Taliban figure imprisoned for life in California on drug trafficking and terrorism charges, officials said Tuesday.

In the very last hours of President Joe Biden’s time in office, a prisoner exchange years in the making was finally struck: the Taliban agreed to swap two Americans being held in Afghanistan for one Taliban member serving a life sentence in a US prison.

Americans Ryan Corbett and William W. McKenty III were freed, their families said. The Taliban said Khan Mohammed, an Afghan serving a life sentence in California, was released.

An estimated 15,000 Afghans are waiting to be relocated to the United States since the Taliban takeover in 2021, when US troops pulled out of the country after two decades.

Afghans who fled after the Taliban seized power have appealed to President Donald Trump to exempt them from an order suspending the relocation of refugees to the United States, some saying they risked their lives to support U.

The Taliban regard us as traitors, and returning to Afghanistan would expose us to arrest, torture, or death."