Biden Offers Putin An Extremely Valuable Asset – Guess What?
(TruthandLiberty.com) – The United States has refused agreements involving prisoner swaps with foreign countries for decades. Officials say the practice could encourage bad actors to take innocent Americans hostage and only give them back in exchange for convicted foreign-national criminals. Now, the Biden administration appears willing to change its tactics, potentially opening Pandora’s box by swapping a convicted Russian arms dealer for two US citizens in Russian custody.
On Wednesday, July 27, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US government is prepared to make a prisoner swap with Russia. As part of the trade for two US nationals, the government appears willing to give up 55-year-old Viktor Bout, known as the “Merchant of Death.”
Who is Viktor Bout, Russia's 'Merchant of Death' who could be freed in prisoner swap for Brittney Griner? https://t.co/VUlM2VWouf
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 28, 2022
In 2011, a jury convicted the foreigner of conspiring to kill Americans and sell millions of dollars of high-tech weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). A federal judge sentenced the inmate to 25 years in a federal detention facility.
In February, Russia detained and charged WNBA star Brittney Griner with entering the country with an illegal substance. In 2020, a Russian court sentenced US Marine Paul Whelan to 16 years in prison for espionage.
Would the United States really break a rule to acquire the two citizens for a known post-Soviet arms dealer capable of giving up information about domestic interrogations strategies and insights into the criminal justice system? Are officials prepared for the consequences of re-engaging a deep network of weapons purchasers?
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