Earlier this week, the United States and Russia agreed to a prisoner swap that freed convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout and sent him back to Russia while also freeing WNBA star Brittney Griner and returning her to the United States after she spent nearly a year in Russian custody. While many were happy to see Griner free, not everyone was happy about the decision to release the arms dealer known as “The Merchant of Death.” And now that he’s back in Russia, it looks like he’s already back with his Russian extremist groups.
According to a report from Reuters, Viktor Bout has already a Russian extremist group called the Kremlin-loyal ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Part. The party holds to “a hardline, ultranationalist ideology, demanding Russia reconquer the countries of the former Soviet Union,” Reuters reports.
Though some believe Bout is no longer a threat and has been held accountable for his crimes, it’s certainly not good news that he’s already taking part in an extremist political party that advocates Russian imperialism just days after his release from the United States.
Many have blasted and heavily criticized President Joe Biden for his decision to release Bout in exchange for Brittney Griner, including former President Donald Trump as well as John Bolton, who was a former national security advisor to Donald Trump. He called the move a “very bad mistake,” revealing that the Trump administration chose
“This is not a deal. This is not a swap. This is a surrender,” Bolton said. “And terrorists and rogue states all around the world will take note of this, and it endangers other Americans in the future who can be grabbed and used as bargaining chips by people who don’t have the same morals and scruples that we do.”
[Reuters]