How Jesse Jackson freed dozens of Americans held captive overseas

yahoo.com · Feb 21, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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Jesse Jackson held many titles. Reverend. Civil Rights leader. Democratic presidential candidate. Washington, DC's shadow senator in Congress.Jackson, who died Feb. 17 after a long illness, was also a prolific negotiator, responsible for securing the release of hundreds of hostages, "human shields" and prisoners across the world. More than 100 Americans escaped foreign detention and captivity thanks to Jackson.The civil rights icon's efforts won praise from presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton− and sniping from the State Department and other officials. Several of those freed were captured U.S. soldiers and airmen. Others were accused of wrongdoing by hostile governments. They were held in countries including Cuba, Iraq, Syria, Kosovo, Gambia and Liberia.Clinton, while awarding Jackson the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000, noted his "legendary prowess at persuading people to do things they are otherwise disinclined to do to free innocents imprisoned around the world, including American servicemen from the Middle East to the Balkans."More: When is Jesse Jackson's funeral? Here's what we knowSaddam Hussein's human shieldsOne group of Americans had been among hundreds of civilians held by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein as human shields ahead of the 1990-90 Gulf War.A former American diplomat working at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad at the time recounted Jackson's arrival on the eve of the confict.Senator Jesse Jackson carries Stuart Lockwood, a five-year-old British hostage who appeared on Iraqi T.V. with Saddam Hussein, on their arrival at London's Heathrow Airport on September 2, 1990."He came to the embassy and he said, 'What can I do?'" Stephen Thibeault told the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training in an oral history interview. "So, Jackson had his meetings with the Iraqis and, indeed, they offered to let him take a certain number of hostages."In a letter to Hussein released by the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, Jackson urged the leader "not to let the doors of dialogue and humanitarianism close."It was a plea that undergirded much of his activism and so-called "citizen diplomacy" − to sit down and talk.Jackson 'opened doors' for American captivesAlvin B. Tillery, a political scientist at Northwestern University who wrote a book about Black political leadership and foreign policy, said Jackson's unique position helps explain why he was so successful in freeing Americans held abroad.Tillary said Jackson’s mantle as one of the “principal heirs” of Martin Luther King Jr. allowed him to reach across barriers that many others couldn’t. He was a figure who “opened doors and made people pick up their phones,” Tillary said, succeeding where active government officials and lawmakers sometimes could not.Jackson burnished his reputation early in his life, joining sit-ins as a teenager and participating in the the deadly Bloody Sunday march in Selma, Alabama, when he was 23. In the early 80s, Jackson made his first forays into politics in Washington, DC, and launched his first presidential campaign in 1984. That same year, he would also launch what became a decades-long career in "Track II" diplomacy, sometimes called "humanitarian" or "citizen" diplomacy.In January 1984, Jackson successfully secured the freedom of U.S. Navy pilot Lt. Robert Goodman, who had been held in Syria for 30 days after he was shot down over Lebanon."Rev. Jackson's mission was a personal mission of mercy," President Ronald Reagan, who had opposed Jackson's efforts, said at a Rose Garden ceremony. "And he has earned our gratitude and our admiration."Later, in June 1984, Jackson traveled to Cuba and negotiated the release of 22 American prisoners held by Fidel Castro's government.His conversations with Saddam Hussein in 1990 yielded the release of hundreds of foreign nationals and about 100 Americans who had been prevented from leaving the country.In 1999, Jackson negotiated the release of U.S. soldiers held by Serbian forces in Kosovo, and helped negotiate the release of four journalists held in Liberia the following year.Efforts met with celebration and criticismDespite his success in negotiating releases in the mid-80s, Jackson's unrelenting push at times rankled the Reagan administration, especially as his second, more successful, bid for the White House in 1988 further raised his profile.When Jackson announced in July 1988 that he was interested in connecting with the Iranian government via third parties to seek the release of American hostages in Lebanon, the U.S. State Department wasn't enthused.Fidel Castro walks with Rev. Jesse Jackson at Havana's Jose Marti airport on June 25, 1984, during Jackson's successful mission to free American captives held in Cuba.State Department spokesman Charles E. Redman brushed off Jackson's efforts, saying the administration believes that "official channels offer the best chance of success."Vice President George Bush was less diplomatic, calling Jackson a ''a loose cannon'' who was ''rolling around'' in foreign policy.Jackson's bid for the Oval Office effectively ended in June 1988, after Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis won critical primaries in California and New York. His political star power was at a high point, even after failing to nab the Democratic Party nomination.Rev. Jesse Jackson is is flanked by U.S. Army Corporal Steven Gonzalez (l), Sgt. Chistopher Stone (2nd r) and Sgt. Andrew Ramirez (r), following their their capture in Kosovo, after they were given into his custody in Belgrade, Serbia, May 2, 1999.Dukakis himself wasn't outwardly supportive of his fellow Democrat's efforts, either, telling a Seattle news outlet that private citizens should not try to conduct foreign policy.But Jackson stood his ground, straddling a line between his role as a rising Democratic Party figure, and as the independent interlocutor who found success in his ability to operate outside strict government lines.An enduring humanitarian legacyTillary called Jackson’s efforts to free Robert Goodman from Syria “a major positive story in the country” at the time. His success in ferreting out three American servicemen from Kosovo 15 years later was also broadly celebrated.“He was a great American patriot, and if he had a line to Saddam Hussein or Castro, or to the Syrian regime, he was going to try to use that line to bring Americans home. And that’s exactly what he did,” Tillary said.For Jonathan Franks, a consultant who works on cases representing Americans held abroad, Jackson's influence and impact is without comparison.What makes third-party negotiators like Jackson so successful, he said, is "someone with a Rolodex."Former hostage Bonnie Anderton and her daughter Jennifer, talk to Jesse Jackson on their arrival at Dulles airport from Iraq. September 2, 1990.“If you called me today and said, ‘I have this loved one that’s incarcerated in so-and-so place, and the government won’t help,’ my first instinct would be to go find somebody with a name," Franks said.It doesn't guarantee an outcome, he said, especially in kidnap-for-ransom situations, but a high-profile name can make a significant difference in bringing attention to a case.Recalling a recent, complex case that resulted in several Americans freed, Franks said: “I would have given just about anything to have somebody with the moral credibility and prominence of Jesse Jackson.”Kathryn Palmer is a politics reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@usatoday.com and on X @KathrynPlmr. Sign up for her daily politics newsletter here.This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jesse Jackson's legacy as an international hostage negotiator