According to press reports, the U.S. government is prepared to swap notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner, two Americans currently jailed in Russia.
WHITE PLAINS, NY - NOVEMBER 16: In this photo provided by the U.S. Department of Justice, former Soviet military officer and arms trafficking suspect Viktor Bout deplanes after arriving at Westchester County Airport November 16, 2010 in White Plains, New York. Bout was extradited from Thailand to the U.S. to face terrorism charges after a final effort by Russian diplomats to have him released failed. According to press reports, the U.S.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union until his capture in a 2008 Drug Enforcement Agency sting operation in Bangkok, Bout supplied a rogue's gallery of governments and militias with guns, ammunition and aircraft. Nicolas Cage played a thinly veiled version of Bout in the 2005 film"Lord of War," although the real-life version's antics were more cinematically uncanny.
The U.S. sanctioned Bout in 2004 due to his gunrunning to Liberia; a year later, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned four of Bout’s associates and 30 of his companies. Peter Hain, the former minister of state for Africa at the British Foreign Office, told the London Sunday Telegraph in 2002 that Bout was “supplying the Taliban and al-Qaida,” an allegation that Bout always denied, portraying himself as an honest businessman toting innocent wares such as textiles and furniture to places like Afghanistan.
Österreich Neuesten Nachrichten, Österreich Schlagzeilen
Similar News:Sie können auch ähnliche Nachrichten wie diese lesen, die wir aus anderen Nachrichtenquellen gesammelt haben.
Biden Offers to Swap Russian Arms Dealer Viktor Bout for Brittney Griner and Paul WhelanThese seems like a fine deal. Bring our people home!
Weiterlesen »
Viktor Bout: The Russian arms dealer touted for US prisoner swapThe future of two American citizens detained in Russia could hinge on the release of a convicted Russian arms dealer, nicknamed the 'Merchant of Death' by his accusers, whose life story inspired a Hollywood film.
Weiterlesen »
Disarming Viktor BoutThe Russian criminal Viktor Bout may be offered in a prisoner exchange to free Brittney Griner. Read Nicholas Schmidle’s 2014 report on the rise and fall of the world’s most notorious weapons trafficker.
Weiterlesen »
‘Merchant of Death’: Who is Viktor Bout, the arms dealer Biden offered Russia in prisoner swap?Stashed away in a federal penitentiary deep in the bowels of Illinois sits a notorious Russian arms dealer named Viktor Bout, a man the Biden administration is rumored to be eyeing as a bargaining chip to procure the release of two American prisoners.
Weiterlesen »
Blinken says U.S. made Russia a 'substantial proposal' for release of Brittney Griner and Paul WhelanBREAKING: The U.S. made an offer to Russia for the release of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, Secretary Blinken said.
Weiterlesen »
U.S. Offers Deal to Russia for Release of WNBA’s Brittney GrinerThe athlete was arrested on drug-related charges at a Moscow airport in February and testified Wednesday at her trial.
Weiterlesen »