Myanmar deports US citizen detained over business dispute

Myanmar’s regime said it deported on Wednesday a US citizen detained since June over a lawsuit accusing him of business misdealings linked to the nation’s American chamber of commerce. Adam Castillo, a security consultant and former president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar, was detained on entry to the Southeast Asian country on June 11. A regime statement said Castillo had been accused in a lawsuit of a breach of trust, violating the constitution of the business organisation he once led. Castillo was deported from the airport of the capital Naypyitaw on Wednesday evening, the statement said. “In consideration of the bilateral friendly and close relations between the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and the United States of America, he was deported in accordance with prescribed procedures,” it added. The statement did not say where he was deported to. There were no further details about the terms of his release or the status of the case against him. However, his deportation coincided with local media reports that an American delegation had visited the capital. Myanmar’s regime spokeswoman did not respond to an AFP query over the reported visit earlier on Wednesday. Since Castillo’s detention he had disappeared into Myanmar’s justice system, which has become almost entirely opaque following a 2021 coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. AFP journalists saw him only briefly in Yangon as he arrived for a court hearing where he was remanded in custody. Castillo had faced up to a decade behind bars, in prisons criticised by rights monitors for dire conditions. After more than five years of military rule following the coup, Myanmar held tightly controlled elections starting in late 2025, which installed a military-allied party into power. Coup leader Min Aung Hlaing has appointed himself president—a transition which democracy watchdogs describe as a charade rebranding his rule. Analysts say Myanmar is now keen to shake off its post-coup pariah status, re-engaging with nations which have largely frozen it out since 2021.

Myanmar deports US citizen detained over business dispute

The former president of Myanmar’s American Chamber of Commerce was released after several months’ detention, following a visit by an American delegation to Naypyitaw

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