Former Gov. Bill Richardson helps bring home US Marine

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — After almost three years in a Russian prison, a U.S Marine is finally back on American soil. Trevor Reed landed in the U.S. early Thursday morning.

His mom, Paula Reed, was overjoyed to have him back.

"Finally, after waiting all this time I’m going to be able to hug my kid, you know, and put my arms around him, I had a little bit of a panic attack when he told me he was going to spend the whole summer in Russia, so nine months. Now, it’s been almost a thousand days, so I’m just excited to see him,” Paula said.

Reed was arrested in 2019 after Russian authorities said he assaulted an officer. His return home was made possible by the Bill Richardson Center.

In a statement, the former New Mexico governor said, in part:

“Over the last two years we have been working closely with Trevor’s parents, Paula and Joey, as well as their trusted representative, Jon Franks, trying to secure Trevor’s safe return home. In this effort, we have had many engagements with our Russian counterparts, and have recently traveled to Moscow, on a private humanitarian mission.”

President Joe Biden commuted the sentence of Konstantin Yaroshenko, a convicted drug trafficker, in exchange for Reed. Richardson said even though the release of Reed is a success, there’s still more work to be done.

Brittney Griner, a WNBA player has been detained in Russia since February when Russian officials found vape cartridges in her luggage. Paul Whelan, also a former Marine, has been detained in Russia for accusations of espionage – which he denied.