The three freed U.S. prisoners pose for a photo with family members after their release. Credit: Twitter / POTUS

The three U.S. citizens freed in a prisoner swap with Russia landed in San Antonio early Friday morning so they can spend time at a Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) facility that helps the formerly incarcerated re-enter society, the Express-News reports.

After the plane carrying freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva touched down Thursday night at Maryland’s Joint Base Andrews, the trio and their families boarded another plane for the Alamo City.

That plane landed at Kelly Field in Southwest San Antonio a little after 3 a.m., the Express-News reports. A U.S. official told the daily that the freed prisoners would spend the day resting.

“After enduring unimaginable suffering and uncertainty, the Americans detained in Russia are safe, free, and have begun their journeys back into the arms of their families,” President Joe Biden tweeted Thursday afternoon.

Russia released Gershkovich, Whelan and Kurmasheva through a swap involving cooperation from multiple U.S. allies and the release of a total of 24 prisoners, according to the Associated Press. The exchange unfolded even as relations between the U.S. and Russia are at their lowest point since the Cold War.

The Biden White House began working to piece together the elaborate deal two years ago, NBC News reports.

Gershkovich, Whelan and Kurmasheva are expected to undergo medical evaluations in San Antonio and may continue treatment at BAMC if they so choose, the Associated Press reports.

Olympic gold medalist and WNBA star Brittney Griner was taken to the BAMC facility after her release from Russian custody in late 2022. Paul Rusesabagina, the San Antonio resident on whom the film Hotel Rwanda was based, also spent time at the site after the Rwandan government released him from jail in 2023, according to the Express-News.

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This article appears in Best of San Antonio 2024.

Sanford Nowlin is editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current. He holds degrees from Trinity University and the University of Texas at San Antonio, and his work has been featured in Salon, Alternet, Creative...