Families of jailed Americans urge Trump to seek their release during Xi meeting

By MS NOW

May 14, 2026, 1:25 PM EST

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As President Donald Trump meets in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping, two American families are holding out hope that the meeting will open a way for the release of relatives who have been in Chinese prisons for more than a decade.

Dawn Michelle Hunt, 54, of Chicago and Nelson Wells Jr., 52, of Louisiana were separately convicted of drug smuggling during trips to China and sent to prison in 2014. Their families say Hunt and Wells were unwitting victims of drug trafficking schemes and were manipulated or deceived into transporting narcotics.

They are urging Trump to personally raise their relatives’ cases with Xi this week.

“You, as an American president, have the opportunity to get them released,” Tim Hunt, the brother of Dawn Michelle Hunt, told MS NOW in referring to the president on Wednesday. “When you look Xi Jinping in the eye, just say: ‘You got my people. You have my Americans. Here’s the list of names. Bring them home.’ It’s just that simple.”

Hunt, an artist and former flight attendant, was convicted on drug-related charges after Chinese authorities accused her of trafficking narcotics into the country. Her family said she was unknowingly drawn into a trafficking operation after she was lured by what appeared to be a legitimate all-expenses-paid trip to Hong Kong. After Hunt had spent more than two weeks traveling, organizers gave her designer purses and luggage before she was to fly to Australia as part of the trip, her family said. Chinese authorities said they found drugs hidden inside the purse linings during an airport security search, the family said.

At Hunt’s trial, the judge acknowledged the American had been deceived but said that she should have known better, according to Hunt’s family. Hunt was initially sentenced to death, but her sentence was later changed to life in prison, her family said. She is being held at Guangdong Women’s Prison in southern China.

Wells, a veteran and father of three who worked for a tech company in Japan, was convicted on similar drug smuggling charges after authorities alleged that he tried to transport narcotics into China. Speaking to the Congressional-Executive Commission on China in 2024, Wells’ father, Nelson Wells Sr., said his son was also the victim of a scam and had no intention of participating in criminal activity. According to his father, Wells had traveled to the country for a medical procedure and unknowingly carried bags containing hidden drugs for an acquaintance.

Wells was arrested in China and initially sentenced to life in prison before his sentence was reduced to 22 years in 2019, his family said. He is being held at Chongqing Yudu Prison in southwestern China.

The families say both prisoners suffer from serious medical issues and have not received adequate treatment while in custody.