{"id":528846,"date":"2026-03-26T23:18:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T20:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reform.news\/?p=528846"},"modified":"2026-03-27T12:26:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T09:26:58","slug":"john-coale-speaks-about-release-of-political-prisoners-in-belarus-at-cpac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/john-coale-speaks-about-release-of-political-prisoners-in-belarus-at-cpac","title":{"rendered":"John Coale Speaks About Release of Political Prisoners in Belarus at CPAC"},"content":{"rendered":"
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U.S. presidential envoy for Belarus John Coale<\/b> spoke<\/a> at the CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) 2026 in Dallas, outlining backchannel diplomacy that led to the release of 500 political prisoners from Belarus.<\/p>\n

The substance of his remarks largely repeated his recent speech at the McCain Institute<\/a> on March 12, prior to his latest visit to Minsk, which resulted in the release of 250 political prisoners.<\/p>\n

Coale again said that when the U.S. State Department asked him a year ago to urgently fly to Minsk, he did not even know where it was. He had to depart the next day. Before meeting with Aliaksandr Lukashenka<\/b>, he was told the Belarusian leader liked jokes, and decided to ease the atmosphere with humor. After six to seven hours of talks, accompanied by traditional vodka toasts, he secured the release of one U.S. citizen.<\/p>\n

After establishing personal rapport with Lukashenka, Coale returned to Minsk a month later. On that occasion, the KGB took him to a forest, where a van was waiting.<\/p>\n

“And I\u2019m thinking, \u2018I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen here, but it\u2019s probably not good.\u2019 But it turned out fine. The van pulled up, and there were 14 people inside. I opened the door, and they were all sitting like this. They had their heads down like this. Later I learned they thought they were going to be executed. I opened the van and said, \u2018You are free.\u2019 Then I repeated: \u2018You are free.\u2019 One guy looked around, and I realized I had to say something. And I said: \u2018The President of the United States Donald Trump<\/b> sent me to free you.\u2019 Boom, they all understood,”<\/i> he said.<\/p>\n

According to Coale, Trump only learned about the incident a week later during a private dinner attended by Coale and his wife, television host Greta Van Susteren<\/b>. The U.S. president was angered that he had not been informed immediately and demanded to be connected with Lukashenka at once. The call took place aboard Air Force One, as Trump was flying to Alaska for a meeting with Vladimir Putin<\/b>. Secretary of State Marco Rubio<\/b> and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles<\/b> initially expressed concern, insisting on proper preparations, but the conversation ultimately went ahead. Lukashenka and Trump discussed the release of prisoners and the normalization of relations between the two countries.<\/p>\n

Describing his negotiating tactics, Coale said he told Lukashenka that he was sitting at a “table of losers” alongside Cuba, Venezuela, Iran and China, while he had the option of moving to a “table of winners.”<\/p>\n

“And he said: \u2018Yes.\u2019 About a week ago, I called him and said: \u2018You are the only loser left. We\u2019ve already dealt with the other losers.\u2019 So we struck a new deal. Last week, I secured another 250 people. That brings the total to 500. And I have tremendous support from President Trump in all of this, because we are trying to show there is another side. We are not always at war, as the world thinks. We have a side that is compassionate and cares about others, whoever they may be, people who are unjustly deprived of their freedom,”<\/i> Coale said.<\/p>\n

He added that the release of around 800 more political prisoners lies ahead.<\/p>\n

“And we will do it. That is my job,”<\/i> he said.<\/p>\n