President Joe Biden signed an executive order Tuesday aimed at deterring and punishing the wrongful detention of U.S. citizens abroad, authorizing government agencies to impose sanctions and other measures..

Biden has faced mounting pressure from families of hostages and detainees, most recently in the case of WNBA star Britney Greener, who has been in Russian custody since February and is on trial for drug possession..

Deteriorating U.S.-Russia Relations Due to Moscow’s Invasion of Ukraine Highlights Its Detention and a Broader Problem.

The US does not provide official figures on how many US citizens are detained abroad, but the James Wu Legacy Foundation. Foley, named after an American journalist who was kidnapped and killed in Syria, says more than 60 US citizens are illegally detained in about 18 countries..

Some of them are held by major US adversaries such as Iran, Russia, Venezuela and China..

Executive Order Allows Agencies to Impose Unspecified Costs and Consequences, including Financial Sanctions, on Those Involved in Hostage Taking.

“The sanctions powers included in this executive order allow the United States to impose financial and travel sanctions against those responsible for the unfair detention of US citizens, whether their abductor is a terrorist network or a government official,” the Secretary of State said..

Order directs government agencies to work more closely with families of detainees and share information and possibly intelligence, US officials say.

New steps to add warnings to State Department travel advice when there is an increased risk of wrongful detention in a foreign country. Six countries - Myanmar, China, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela - will receive a warning on Tuesday..

Also, the Biden administration introduces risk indicator D, which will designate countries with the indicated risks..

Russia's April release of former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed has heightened calls from relatives of others overseas detainees for Biden to act..

Reed was released after three years in prison as part of a prisoner exchange with Russia.. Biden softened the prison term in the United States to Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko.

Earlier it was reported that the US Senate may consider granting Russia the status of a "