Houthis’ Detention of US Mission Workers ‘Fueled by Paranoia’ After Israeli Strikes, Analyst Says
Senior researcher Elenora Ardemagni says allegations of espionage serve as a powerful narrative device, allowing the Houthis to fuse ideology, security, and governance into a single frame
The Houthis’ continued detention of current and former Yemeni staff linked to the US mission in Yemen has renewed international concern over the armed group’s governance practices, particularly as it follows earlier arrests of United Nations personnel and humanitarian workers in areas under Houthi control. On Dec. 11, the US State Department condemned what it described as the Houthis’ “unlawful detention” of local staff, accusing the group of pursuing “sham” legal measures against individuals accused of espionage. The condemnation came days after the United Nations confirmed that dozens of its Yemeni employees remain in Houthi custody, some held incommunicado and without due process.
UN officials say at least 59 Yemeni UN personnel have been detained since 2024, prompting Secretary-General António Guterres to publicly demand their immediate release and warn that referring UN staff to a special criminal court constitutes a serious violation of international law. Human rights organizations have similarly described the arrests as arbitrary and part of a widening crackdown targeting Yemenis connected, directly or indirectly, to international institutions.
For analysts, the detentions point to a deliberate recalibration of Houthi governance at a moment when external confrontation has partially receded, and internal control has become more central.
Eleonora Ardemagni, senior associate research fellow at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies, said the timing of the arrests is significant.
“With the ceasefire in Gaza and the Houthis’ halt to shipping attacks in the Red Sea and against Israel, the movement is shifting back to an internal mobilization strategy,” Ardemagni told The Media Line. “One way to do that is by constructing ‘internal enemies’ so affiliates, supporters, and sympathizers remain politically and socially activated,” she added.
In this context, allegations of espionage serve as a powerful narrative device. According to Ardemagni, they allow the Houthis to fuse ideology, security, and governance into a single frame.
“Accusations of espionage serve multiple purposes for the Houthis,” she said. “They reinforce propaganda framing the United States and Israel as the main threat, and they also sustain a climate of fear and repression in areas under Houthi control. In that sense, blaming individuals for spying is not only a security narrative; it is also a tool of governance,” she added.
Bridget Toomey, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies said the arrests are also meant to discipline society under Houthi rule by drawing clear red lines.
The Houthis view the United States—above all, but also its Western partners—as enemies. In that mindset, anyone with perceived links to those countries is treated with extreme suspicion.
“The Houthis view the United States—above all, but also its Western partners—as enemies,” Toomey told The Media Line. “In that mindset, anyone with perceived links to those countries is treated with extreme suspicion,” she added.
She said the message is directed as much at the broader population as at those detained.
“These detentions are meant as a warning to civilians under Houthi control not to associate in any way with what the group defines as ‘enemy’ states,” Toomey said, adding that the campaign reinforces why Western governments continue to regard the Houthis as an unreliable interlocutor.
“Their campaign of illegal detentions is also a reminder to Western governments that the Houthis earned their designation as a terrorist organization,” she said. “It underscores why the group cannot be treated as a trustworthy counterpart,” she added.
Both analysts emphasized that repression is not incidental but foundational to how the Houthis govern, particularly in areas where they lack the resources or institutional capacity to deliver services.
“Coercion and repression are central to Houthi governance in northwestern Yemen,” Ardemagni said. “Recent events fit that broader pattern, especially because their model lacks a strong welfare component, so control and intimidation become even more important to maintain authority and discipline,” she added.
Toomey said the scale of recent arrests also reflects growing insecurity within the movement itself, particularly after targeted strikes exposed vulnerabilities in Houthi-controlled institutions.
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“The Houthis’ expansive detention campaign in recent months has been fueled by internal paranoia, particularly after Israel’s successful targeting of the Houthi-controlled government in Sanaa,” she said. “The group maintains its grip on power through extensive domestic repression, aimed at securing compliance from many Yemenis who are not devout supporters of the movement,” she added.
At the same time, she noted that detainees affiliated with international organizations can serve an additional external purpose.
“Detained UN staff, humanitarian workers, and personnel linked to the US mission can also serve as bargaining chips as the Houthis engage in UN-led negotiations,” Toomey said. “So the detentions function both as a tool of internal control and as leverage in diplomacy,” she added.
Despite repeated international condemnations, analysts say there is little evidence that external pressure has shifted the Houthis’ strategy.
Detained UN staff, humanitarian workers, and personnel linked to the US mission can also serve as bargaining chips as the Houthis engage in UN-led negotiations
“International sanctions haven’t pushed the Houthis to reconsider their strategy so far,” Ardemagni said. “Sanctions can push the Houthis to find sustainable alternatives, for instance, on smuggling routes, but not to change the overall strategy.”
She stressed that decision-making remains anchored in the interests of the armed movement itself.
“Houthi decisions follow the interests of the armed movement, which in many cases, but not always, overlap with Iran’s,” Ardemagni said.
Toomey similarly argued that conventional diplomatic tools have a limited impact on Houthi behavior.
“The Houthis have little regard for international norms, typical diplomatic engagement, or other forms of pressure,” she said. “Condemnations from the West or from the UN have really no impact on Houthi actions,” she added.
Instead, she said, the group responds primarily to domestic and regional calculations.
Condemnations from the West or from the UN have really no impact on Houthi actions
“Iran and its Axis of Resistance are among the only foreign entities that the Houthis engage with as partners,” Toomey said, adding that material considerations also play a role.
“The Houthis do respond to domestic and regional concerns, particularly threats or opportunities as they see them,” she said. “For example, recently, the Houthis have been concerned about their lack of cash and view escalating rhetoric and threats against Saudi Arabia as a possible path to get the kingdom to agree to give them funds,” she added.
Despite Washington’s condemnation, both experts said the detentions are unlikely to meaningfully alter the Houthis’ relationship with the United States.
“I don’t think this will decisively affect the diplomatic trajectory,” Ardemagni said. “Houthi relations with Washington have long been tense,” she added.
She noted that hostility toward the US is deeply embedded in the movement’s ideology.
“They portray the United States and Israel as their primary enemies. ‘Death to America, death to Israel’ has been at the core of their slogan since the early 2000s, so hostility toward the US is not new, but structural,” she said.
Ardemagni suggested that any practical pressure is more likely to come through regional mediation channels, particularly Oman.
Toomey was more blunt about the limits of public condemnation.
“US statements won’t impact the Houthis,” she said. “The group has shown that it is largely unmoved by Western public pressure,” she added.
However, she added that the cumulative pattern of detentions could still have consequences for international engagement.
“The Houthis’ aggressive and illegal behavior and the clear condemnation from Western states could force the UN to rethink how it engages with the group,” Toomey said, “and how it structures any diplomatic track that assumes good-faith conduct,” she added.
The detentions are unfolding against a fragmented Yemeni political landscape, where internal divisions on the anti-Houthi side continue to undermine prospects for a comprehensive settlement.
“There are not reliable prospects for a ceasefire right now,” Ardemagni warned. “The growing rift in government-controlled areas, between the Emirati-backed Southern Transitional Council and pro-Saudi government forces, is likely to further reduce the chances of any meaningful de-escalation.”
Looking ahead, Toomey argued that normalization of Houthi rule is unlikely to bring long-term stability.
Ultimately, the Houthis are almost certainly on a path toward renewed conflict at some point. Their ideology is inherently and irreconcilably at odds with the West and with Western partners in the region.
“Ultimately, the Houthis are almost certainly on a path toward renewed conflict at some point,” she said. “Their ideology is inherently and irreconcilably at odds with the West and with Western partners in the region,” she added.
Even if UN-led negotiations produce a short-term political arrangement, she cautioned against assuming durability.
“Even if UN-led negotiations produce a political solution in the short or medium term, there is no strong reason to be confident the Houthis would abide by it over the long term,” Toomey said. “They have not demonstrated that they are honest participants in agreements,” she concluded.
