Freed 'Merchant of Death' Viktor Bout Brokers $10 Million Arms Deal with Yemen's Houthis

Oct 7, 2024, 02:22 AM

Viktor Bout, the Russian arms dealer known as the 'Merchant of Death' who was freed in December 2022 in a prisoner swap with the United States in exchange for basketball star Brittney Griner, is reportedly back in the arms business. Bout had been serving a 25-year sentence before his release arranged by the Biden administration. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Bout is negotiating arms deals with Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militants. In August, Houthi emissaries traveled to Moscow to negotiate the purchase of $10 million worth of automatic weapons and encountered Bout, who is brokering the sale. This development has raised concerns about the implications of the prisoner swap.