Three American citizens who had been detained in China were released, a State Department spokesperson said Wednesday. They are Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung.

Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung have been released from detention, a spokesperson for the National Security Council said.

Three American men held for years in Chinese prisons have been released in a holiday prisoner swap just in time for Thanksgiving.

The White House announced a deal with China Wednesday to free Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung, who the U.S. considered wrongfully imprisoned. CBS News political reporter Taurean Small has more on how the deal came about and what it means for the countries' relationship.

The Americans freed from China are Mark Swidan, a businessman from Texas, who was arrested in 2012 and accused of drug related offenses; Kai Li, who had been held since 2016 on espionage charges; and John Leung, who had residency in Hong Kong, and was sentenced last year to life in prison on spying charges.

The exchange, in which three Americans were freed Wednesday, played a role in the State Department’s downgrading of the travel advisory for China.

Actor Mel Gibson applauded U.S. officials on Wednesday for securing the release of American Mark Swidan, who has been detained in China since 2012. “He was wrongfully detained there for a crime he did not commit and spent over a decade in prison in horrible conditions and his release was procured,

Americans Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung are en route back to the United States from imprisonment in China, the White House said.

The exchange was reportedly months in the making, and included the release of at least one Chinese citizen in US custody.