The U.S. government is negotiating the release of Dennis Coyle, a 64-year-old Colorado man detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan since Jan. 27, 2025.
Coyle, from Pueblo, was taken near his workplace by the Taliban’s intelligence agency, the General Directorate of Intelligence, while working as an academic researcher, his family said on a website advocating for his release.
Coyle’s mother and three sisters said they lost contact with him for nine months before confirming he was alive. His sister, Molly Long, told News Nation that he is being held in near-solitary conditions in a basement without access to medical care and must request permission to use the bathroom.
“With each phone call that we get from him, we get more and more desperate to get him home,” Long told News Nation.
Taliban officials told CBS News Coyle is in good health and that his rights are being upheld. They said court proceedings in his case would begin “soon.”
The New York Times reported that the Trump administration and Afghan officials had been negotiating the release of American detainees, including Coyle. According to the report, progress has stalled, with Afghan officials seeking the release of the last Afghan held at Guantánamo Bay as a condition.
Asked about Coyle last week, President Donald Trump said he was not familiar with the details but would “take a very strong position on it.”
In a statement to CBS News, the U.S. State Department said, “The Taliban should immediately release Dennis Coyle and all Americans detained in Afghanistan and end its practice of hostage diplomacy.” The agency also advised Americans not to travel to Afghanistan, citing ongoing detentions and limited U.S. ability to ensure safety.
Coyle first went to Afghanistan in the early 2000s to research the country’s linguistic diversity and help communities develop language resources, his family said. He lived in Kabul and established long-term connections in the community.
“Dennis has always embraced Afghan culture with genuine warmth — sharing cups of traditional green tea, enjoying dried fruit snacks, and engaging in the kind of heartfelt conversations that bridge cultures,” his family wrote on their website.
