Myanmar deports US businessman Adam Castillo after three months in jail
Adam Castillo, a US businessman and ex-president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar, has been deported after three months in detention.
Myanmar's military government has deported Adam Castillo, a US businessman and former president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar, after he spent three months in jail on charges his supporters describe as fabricated.
State-run television reported that Castillo was flown out of Naypyitaw earlier in the day, describing the move as a gesture reflecting the friendly and cordial ties between Myanmar and the United States.
Mickey Bergman, chief executive of Global Reach, a Washington-based nonprofit that works to bring home Americans it considers wrongly detained abroad, said members of the Trump administration had been working quietly behind the scenes to secure Castillo's release. The organisation was engaged by Castillo's family to assist with the case.
Castillo, a former US Marine, founded and owned AGS Myanmar, a security risk management firm. He was taken into custody at Yangon International Airport on June 11, shortly after returning from Malaysia.
His detention followed an accusation of financial impropriety by the American Chamber of Commerce, which he denies. At the time, Myanmar authorities said only that he had been arrested because "there was a crime and a lawsuit," without offering further detail.