Who is arms dealer Viktor Bout that US plans to swap with Russia in prisoner exchange?

The US government on Wednesday, July 27, announced that it will initiate a prisoner swap with Moscow to secure the release of American basketball star Brittney Griner who has been detained in Russia on drug charges, and the former US Marine, Paul Whelan. After months of speculations, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the Biden administration has put a "substantial proposal on the table" for the Kremlin in view of the political pressure to bring the arrested Americans held by Moscow, home, particularly at a time when ties between the two nations had soured over the Kremin's ongoing Ukrainian invasion.

The United States has offered to exchange the convicted Russian arms trafficker Viktor Anatolyevich Bout who was sentenced to 25 years in prison until 2037 after he was convicted by a Manhattan federal court trial jury in 2012. 

(WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted to a courtroom for a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia. Image: AP)

'Merchant of Death': more about well-known Russian weapons trafficker

Nicknamed the “Merchant of Death,” Bout, a well-known Russian weapons trafficker, was arrested by the United States in 2008 on 'terrorism charges.' He was convicted on four counts that included conspiring to kill American citizens and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. The Russian man was accused of selling weapons "illegally" to Colombian rebel group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Spanish acronym FARC) which was designated as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US State Department back then. 

The prominent leftist guerrilla group widely murdered Americans in Colombia, according to the US Department of Justice. In one such killing that widely gained traction was the killing of Americans by Commander Gildardo of FARC's 10th Front who took them into Venezuela, killed and later burned the corpses. Viktor Bout was found to have lended support for the armed conflicts that remained the source of concern around the globe for several decades, US Department of Justice had later found. As per Attorney General Eric Holder, Bout is one of the world’s most prolific arms dealers who was held accountable for his sordid past by the American government. 

It is to be noted that US Department of State revoked the designations of the Revolutionary Forces of Colombia (FARC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) in later years. 

"Viktor Bout sold weapon arsenal that would be the envy of some small countries,” US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara explained in a DoJ release.

“He aimed to sell those weapons to terrorists for the purpose of killing Americans," Bharara added. 

Bout was arrested in Thailand in March 2008 based on a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court. He was charged with four indictments in May 2008. The Russian arms dealer was extradited to the Southern District of New York in November 2010. He was also charged for conspiring to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles and providing material support to the foreign terrorist organization in the three-week jury trial presided by US District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin. 

(Viktor Bout is led by armed Thai police commandoes as he arrives at the criminal court in Bangkok, Thailand. Image: AP)

The decision to exchange Bout with Russia was widely backed by US President Joe Biden and the matter has been in discussion since earlier this year, even before President Vladimir Putin ordered his military forces to invade Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, however, appeared sceptical at a state briefing as he said that "so far, there is no agreement on this issue." Blinken told reporters that Biden has been "involved" in the negotiations and has also signed off on the proposal.

Biden 'signed the proposal': Blinken

"But in terms of the President [Biden], of course he was not only directly involved, he signs off on any proposal that we make, and certainly when it comes to Americans who are being arbitrarily detained abroad, including in this specific case," said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The latter also said that he is expected to call Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov this week to discuss the proposal. 

The Kremlin, however, claimed earlier yesterday that it has received "no requests" from the President Biden-led US administration for any telephonic conversation scheduled between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. In a confirmation to TASS, the Russian foreign ministry said, "There have been no requests, only media reports. We rely on regular diplomatic practices rather than on megaphone diplomacy."