US businessman Adam Castillo deported from Myanmar after months in jail, state media says

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military-backed government has deported Adam Castillo, a U.S. businessman and former president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar, after three months in jail on what supporters say were trumped-up charges, state media reported Wednesday.

State-run MRTV television said Castillo was flown out of the capital, Naypyitaw, earlier in the day, “in consideration of the friendly relations between Myanmar and the United States.”

The report said he had been charged with breach of trust over allegations he had violated the regulations of AmCham Myanmar. It did not say whether he had ever been brought to trial, or whether the charges had been dismissed.

Global Reach, a Washington-based nonprofit that seeks to bring home Americans who are being wrongly held abroad, which was engaged by Castillo’s family to help in the case, confirmed his release.

“We are thrilled to see Adam coming home and are grateful for the collaboration and efforts from the Trump Administration," said Global Reach CEO Mickey Bergman.

Castillo, 40, was released into the custody of U.S. officials in Myanmar then flown to Bangkok, Thailand, and will soon return home to the U.S.

“I can’t wait to welcome my brother home, but I know it will be bittersweet for him," said his sister Amanda Castillo in a statement. "He had such great hopes for enhanced US/Myanmar relations, and he holds the deepest respect for the Burmese people, among whom he lived for many years.”

The former U.S. Marine, who was a founder and owner of the security risk management firm AGS Myanmar, was detained at Yangon International Airport on June 11 after returning from Malaysia.

The arrest came after AmCham Myanmar accused him of financial impropriety, which he denies. At the time, Myanmar authorities would only say he had been arrested because “there was a crime and a lawsuit,” but did not provide further details.

AmCham Myanmar put out a statement on its website on Wednesday explaining its actions, saying it had “obtained independent legal advice and, consistent with its fiduciary duties and its obligations under its constitution, referred the matter to the appropriate authorities.”

It was not clear whether the AmCham's former executive director who was also arrested in the case, an Australian national, had also been released.

AmCham Myanmar's allegations against Castillo center around his lobbying effort aimed at generating interest in doing business with the restive Southeast Asian nation.

The MAGA loyalist had won audiences at the top levels in Washington to pitch his concept of getting the U.S. access to Myanmar’s abundant rare earth minerals in exchange for sanctions relief. At the same time he was running one of Myanmar’s biggest security companies, and in March published a book detailing his experiences.

The book was critical of U.S. sanctions on Myanmar, which he argued hurt businesses and people but not the military-backed government, but also critical of the military, known as the Tatmadaw, as well as AmCham leadership.

It also detailed an episode in which Castillo said he helped a well-known dissident escape the country.

Castillo was arrested upon returning from promoting the book in Malaysia, at which point the contents of his memoir had likely become known to authorities, said Casey Barnett, who was president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia at the same time Castillo served in that role in Myanmar, and knew him from various events.

Barnett noted that Myanmar had jailed a rapper for 20 years in 2023 just for criticizing the military-government over electricity blackouts.

“The regime likely would be very aware, if not perhaps made aware, of the statements that Adam made in the book, including calling the Tatmadaw regime a great evil," Barnett, who is now president of the CamEd Business School in Phnom Penh, told The Associated Press. "These kinds of statements would be intolerable for a country that puts a rapper in prison for life for criticizing electricity shortages.”

The AmCham's complaint centers around Castillo's creation of the U.S.-Burma Economic Forum as a lobbying organization for the chamber while serving as president from 2023-2025, and a 2024 contract Castillo signed with Washington public relations firm Mercury LLC to help arrange meetings and events.

The contract was worth $300,000, which AmCham Myanmar said in its official complaint that Castillo “illegally collected” using the association’s name and that he “did not deposit these funds into the association’s bank accounts.”

Detailing the internal investigation into the case in its annual report in May, the chamber said “the board never approved the agreement, AmCham Myanmar received no funds, made no payments, and received no services, and the matter was not disclosed to the statutory auditors.”

But other AmCham documents would seem to contradict the annual report.

A Nov. 1, 2024 resolution on AmCham Myanmar letterhead signed by board members including Castillo states that it had approved the Burma Lobby initiative and granted “full authority to act on behalf of AmCham Myanmar in connection with the initiative.” It adds that it agrees that sponsorship will be provided by Misfit Technologies and approves the engagement of Mercury Public Affairs for the lobbying initiative.

The resolution was obtained by the AP from supporters of Castillo, and AmCham Executive Director Myat Phyu The told the AP it was a “fabricated document.”

An employee of Misfit Technologies, whose CEO Munimul Islam was a board member at the time and is now named in the AmCham’s complaint as one of Castillo’s co-defendants, confirmed that Islam had signed the document. The employee spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, and other board members did not respond to emails seeking comment.

Other documents still available on the AmCham’s website also seem to confirm that the board was aware of the initiative and approved of it.

Minutes from the May 30, 2025 general meeting say Castillo proposed establishing the U.S.-Burma Economic Forum as part of the chamber’s constitution, and that the measure passed by 42 votes to eight.

The approximately $300,000 in fees to Mercury were paid directly by Misfit Technologies’ U.S. office because sanctions and Burmese regulations would have made it next to impossible to make the payments from Myanmar, said the Misfit employee, who specifically dealt with the matter.

Those payments were declared by Mercury to American authorities as required under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, with reports available online to the public.

And while the AmCham maintained it had received no services, the AP confirmed that Mercury did organize and attend multiple meetings in Washington with Castillo and others.

“My brother is all about law and order, he was a Marine Corps officer for goodness sake,” said sister Amanda. “The suggestion he did anything inappropriate is laughable - so many people can vouch for that.”

Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.

Vehicles make their ways on a road near Junction City shopping mall Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo)

Pedestrians walk past entrance of Junction City office tower Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo)

Pedestrians walk past near Pabaedan township court Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo)

Pedestrians walk past entrance of Insein prison Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo)

Pedestrians walk past entrance of Junction City office tower Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo)

CAIRO (AP) — Saudi Arabia accused Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels of trying to attack Islam’s holiest city, as the region responded with condemnation Wednesday but no sign of military support. The kingdom, a key U.S. ally, declared Mecca a “red line” as it slid deeper into the new front of the Iran war.

With the world’s biggest oil exporter under fire from the rebels backed by the Saudis' regional adversary, the kingdom needs a safe outlet for its crude as well as military assistance. There's no clear path to either.

A crucial Saudi pipeline has been shut down, reportedly for weeks, after an attack by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. The Houthis have been targeting infrastructure in the kingdom and its shipping on the Red Sea, where they have seized several islands in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. And Iran is still targeting ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices remain above $100 a barrel.

The Houthis denied firing drones toward Mecca, about 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) from Yemen’s border. The Saudis said they intercepted and destroyed the drone before it entered the airspace over the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad.

The attacks are the first test of a new defense pact among Saudi Arabia, NATO member Turkey and nuclear power Pakistan. But officials from Turkey and Pakistan told The Associated Press they have not received a Saudi request for support in response to the Houthis' escalation.

The Turkish official said efforts to “institutionalize” the alliance need to be completed before the pact becomes operational. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the issue.

Amid the condemnation of the attempted attack on Mecca, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his country and the Saudis stand “unwaveringly, shoulder to shoulder.” Turkey's foreign minister expressed solidarity and said no country can “remain indifferent,” state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Criticism also came from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, representing over 57 Muslim states, which said the attempt violates the “sanctity of holy sites.”

This was the second attempted attack by the Houthis against Mecca after the rebels fired a ballistic missile toward the city in 2017, according to Col. Turki al-Maliki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led military coalition fighting the rebels.

Saudi Arabia has been in talks with allies in hopes of replenishing its stock of interceptors, which has been depleted because of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, according to two regional officials.

The officials said the Saudis have asked allies, including France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt, to deploy air-defense teams to help defend against missiles and drones.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to brief the media.

One of the officials said the Saudis turned to European and regional allies because the United States has seen its own stock of interceptors depleted.

A second official said Saudi Arabia is also seeking to rally its regional and international allies to launch a collective response against the Houthis. “But the decision now is to give diplomacy a chance,” he said, noting the roles of Oman and Egypt in the process.

The United States has sold billions of dollars in weapons to Saudi Arabia and has committed to other support, but top U.S. officials have indicated a lack of desire to get involved in the conflict.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Monday said Washington had been in “constant contact” with the Saudis and had “engaged in direct conversations with the Houthis.”

When asked whether Saudi Arabia had requested intervention, a U.S. official said the U.S. military’s Central Command has a task force in place for “enhancing intelligence sharing and planning support with Saudi forces.”

CENTCOM last week hosted senior military leaders from eight countries at a conference in Germany to discuss “opportunities for enhancing security cooperation in the Middle East,” the official also said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly. The official did not confirm which countries attended.

On the ground, forces with Yemen's internationally recognized government have said they are regrouping to combat the Houthis after fleeing the rebels' advance. But those forces are a collection of armed groups with varying aims.

Later Wednesday, the rebels claimed, without offering evidence, that they shot down an F-15 fighter jet operated by the Saudi-led coalition over Yemen’s central province of Marib.

Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree didn’t say when it occurred, and the AP could not independently verify the claim. The rebels at times take days to claim attacks.

Spokespeople for the Saudi-led coalition and the Saudi government didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

While Saudi Arabia appeared to face the choice of pursuing diplomacy or taking the fight to the Houthis, the top diplomat for rival Iran was in China, the biggest buyer of Iranian oil.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on the U.S. and Iran to exercise restraint and reopen the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible, and expressed China’s concern about the spread of the fighting to Yemen and the Red Sea, according to China’s Foreign Ministry.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement after the meeting that Tehran seeks “the restoration of calm to the region and friendly and peaceful relations with our neighbors.”

“In this regard we have begun dialogue with the countries of the region,” he added.

China has avoided direct involvement in the war, but President Xi Jinping at the BRICS summit in New Delhi over the weekend again offered Beijing's help in ending it.

Oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz have recovered somewhat as tankers risk using a route near Oman on the other side of the waterway, with guidance from U.S. forces. Estimates vary because ships can turn off location systems but range from 5 million to 7 million barrels per day on average.

That's less than half the amount before the war began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.

Sewell reported from Beirut, Fraser from Ankara, Turkey, Ahmed from Islamabad and Anna from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo, Ken Moritsugu in Beijing, David McHugh in Frankfurt, Aamer Madhani in Washington and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

This image taken from an undated video released Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, by the Ansar Allah Media Office, the media arm of Yemen's Houthi rebels, shows what the group says are Houthi fighters battling Saudi-backed forces in eastern Jawf, Yemen. (Ansar Allah Media Office via AP)

A man stands beside a portrait of Houthi fighter Mohammed Omar Ali al-Saqqaf, also known as Abu Fatima, mounted on a pickup truck during a mass funeral procession, with Al-Saleh Mosque in the background, in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo)

Pickup trucks travel in a mass funeral procession for Houthi officers and other military personnel in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo)

Displaced Yemenis from the west coast, register to receive free medical care at The Prince Mohammed bin Salman Hospital in Aden, Yemen, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)

Displaced Yemenis from the West coast wait to receive medical care at Prince Mohammed bin Salman Hospital in Aden, Yemen, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)

A displaced person walks through a camp in Taiz province, Yemen, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Marzouq Al Jabri)

This image taken from an undated video released Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, by the Ansar Allah Media Office, the media arm of Yemen's Houthi rebels, shows what the group says are Houthi fighters firing a weapon mounted on a pickup truck during combat with Saudi-backed forces in eastern Jawf, Yemen. (Ansar Allah Media Office via AP)