Top U.S. officials are reportedly concerned that Viktor Bout, the Russian prisoner, that Joe Biden released this week could cause threats to U.S. national security and would go right back into trafficking weapons across the world.
Brittney Griner, who already had a criminal record in the U.S. from a domestic violence incident was also arrested in Russia back in February for possession of illegal drugs and was sentenced to 9 years in a Russian prison.
Just months after her arrest, the Biden administration negotiated to release the Russian “merchant of death” who was convicted on terrorism charges back in 2011 for attempting to sell millions of dollars worth of missiles and guns to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) who are known to shoot down U.S. military helicopters and killing DEA agents.
“I think there is a concern that [he] would return to doing the same kind of work that he’s done in the past,” a senior Defense Department official told Politico following Bout’s release.
“Every Africanist who has been working on this for years and years probably will have a little piece of flutter of disappointment inside” after Bout’s release, the official said. “If his network … were to come to fruition, then we would definitely share the challenges of what illicit weapons or illegal weapons could mean for their prosperity.”
The Politico report also noted that even British officials were concerned about Bout’s release and had begun warning the world over 20 years ago as their military forces were facing advanced weaponry resistance in Africa.
Derek Maltz, a former DEA special agent in charge, also expressed similar concerns and called Bout’s release a “blow to the rule of law.”
“Americans should be very careful traveling around the world,” he said. “This decision has put Americans at a huge risk.” He added.
What does the BOUT/Griner prisoner swap mean for travelers around the world. Corrupt leaders will take advantage of weakness. Thanks @PeteHegseth @willcain and @LisaMarieBoothe pic.twitter.com/OS0p0WQTDx
— Derek Maltz Sr (@derekmaltz_sr) December 10, 2022
Michael Braun, a former chief of operations at the DEA had expressed similar concerns in an op-ed that he wrote back in August warning that if Bout was released from an American prison, he could pose serious threats to the homeland.
“I had ultimate oversight over the operation that led to Bout’s arrest and incarceration,” he wrote. “Trading Bout away wouldn’t just be a slap in the face of the law enforcement officers and operatives who labored to bring Bout down, many of them risking their lives in the process. It would also pose a grave threat to the national security of the United States and its allies.”
Former National Security Advisor, Ambassador John Bolton who is a long-time critic of President Trump revealed this week that President Trump had turned down a proposed prisoner swap between Paul Whelan and Viktor Bout.
“The possibility of a Bout-for-Whelan trade existed back then and it wasn’t made, for very good reasons having to deal with Viktor Bout,” he told CBS News this week.
The 1-for-1 prisoner swap of Brittney Griner and Viktor Bout between the U.S. and Russia was a "very bad mistake," former Trump admin. National Security Adviser Amb. John Bolton says, calling it a "victory for Moscow over Washington."
"It endangers other Americans in the future" pic.twitter.com/ZwFFFaQKPJ
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 8, 2022
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