US officials made a rare visit to Myanmar this week to secure the release of an American businessman who had been detained in the war-torn country since June.
The delegation met with officials of Myanmar’s military-backed government in the capital Naypyidaw on Tuesday, according to a US State Department spokesperson.
The meeting was the among the most significant engagements between the US and Myanmar since the military launched a coup in 2021, overturning the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and plunging the country into civil war and economic ruin.
“In those engagements, the US delegation secured the release of a detained US citizen Adam Castillo,” the spokesperson said in a statement. The spokesperson did not say who was part of the delegation, or which Myanmar officials they met with.
Myanmar’s rulers have been ramping up efforts to garner international recognition after holding stage-managed elections earlier this year that installed junta chief Min Aung Hlaing as president.
The ballot was widely denounced by critics as a sham, but the junta hoped it would convince some in the international community to re-engage with the Southeast Asian nation after years of isolation and sanctions imposed following the coup.
Castillo, a former US marine who ran a security and risk management company in Myanmar’s commercial capital Yangon, was arrested on June 11 at the city’s international airport.
