Houthi rebels are holding American citizens prisoner. Washington Post.

Houthi rebels inspect a bombed building. Washington Post/Reuters.

Houthi Rebels have taken at least four U.S. Citizens prisoner in Yemen. Washington Post. U.S. efforts to free the prisoners has failed. One prisoner was scheduled to be released but the descion was reversed by the Houthi's ruling council. None of the prisoners worked for the U.S. government. Three were employed in the private sector and the last has duel U.S./Yemeni citizenship. In addition to the prisoners, many other Americans have been unable or unwilling to leave the country after the United States pulled out. So far the prisoners have not been treated as hostages or hurt, but their mental state may be deteriorating. 

My Comment:

Well, this was inevitable. It's unclear if these people were trapped there or if they chose to stay there, but my guess is that if the United States had gotten more people out this wouldn't have happened. The fact that we just left our people in Yemen is just disgusting to me. We had the means to help them, just not the will. 

So what happens next? The good news is that the Houthis are not ISIS. They won't execute these prisoners. I guess it is possible but it seems very unlikely. The much more likely scenario is that these people will be held hostage for money. Since the U.S. government does not negotiate with terrorists, the people will be held for a long time. 

There is also a real danger that the prisoners will be killed by accident. The Saudis have been essentially carpet bombing Yemen and there is a huge potential for a friendly fire case. Since the prisoners are being held in Saana, a major target for the Saudis, it's possible that they could be killed accidentally in a raid. It sounds like the United States knows where these prisoners are and they probably have passed on that info to the Saudis. Still, it's possible. 

Another solution is some kind of commando raids. I could see the Saudis doing that but not the United States. We aren't at war with the Houthis and killing a bunch of them in a raid would have major political costs, and could anger the Iranians. Plus, America has a pretty poor record lately for rescuing hostages...

Perhaps some other political deal will be made. It's not impossible, but any such deal would take a long time to make. It's also possible that the Houthis will view these prisoners as a liability and will give them up voluntarily. And it is also possible that the Iranians will put pressure on the Houthis to release the prisoners. That would be the best case scenario.