To the Point
Viktor Bout, Merchant of Death, to Be Extradited to US
Former Russian air force officer Viktor Bout was arrested in Thailand two years ago, allegedly talking to rebels from Colombia who turned out to be American agents. Today a Thai court has ordered his extradition to the United States, over angry objections from Russia. The US claims he was negotiating to sell illegal weapons to the rebels.
By Warren Olney • • 1 min readFormer Russian air force officer
Viktor Bout was arrested in Thailand two years ago, allegedly talking to rebels from Colombia who turned out to be American agents. Today a Thai court has ordered his extradition to the United States, over angry objections from Russia. The US claims he was negotiating to sell illegal weapons to the rebels. His wife says he was interested in “tango lessons.”
Douglas Farah is a senior fellow at the
International Assessment and Strategy Center
. His book about Bout is
.
