A Russian businessman known as the “Merchant of Death” is a wanted man in Washington.
More than two dozen House lawmakers are pressing the Obama administration to make sure that Viktor Bout is extradited to the U.S. from Thailand where he was arrested a year ago for conspiring to arm Colombian rebels.
In a Feb. 11 letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the members of Congress say Bout’s lawyers already have succeeded in delaying his delivery. Russian authorities want Bout turned over to them, the legislators say, raising the possibility he might avoid a U.S. courtroom unless the administration makes his extradition a high priority.
“The Congress is making it abundantly clear, the ‘Merchant of Death’ must face justice,” said Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on terrorism, nonproliferation and trade. Royce is leading the effort to have Bout brought to the U.S.
In response to the letter, Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said law enforcement officials are working closely with Thai authorities to ensure Bout is tried in New York, where he faces U.S. charges.
Bout, reputed to be one of the world’s most prolific arms dealers, was caught at a Bangkok luxury hotel in an elaborate sting operation. Agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration posed as rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, looking to buy millions of dollars in weapons from Bout. FARC is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.
U.S. authorities long have considered Bout a weapons smuggler whose alleged list of customers included former dictator Charles Taylor of Liberia, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, the late dictator Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire (now known as Congo) and both sides of the civil war in Angola. In Afghanistan, he also allegedly armed the Taliban and the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance.
He was charged with conspiracy for allegedly trying to smuggle missiles and rocket launchers to the FARC. Bout also faces charges conspiring to kill U.S. officers or employees. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Bout has denied the charges.
In the letter to Holder and Clinton, the House members cite news reports suggesting the Russian government “is attempting to negatively influence” Bout’s extradition. The letter offers no further details, however.
Douglas Farah, who co-wrote a 2007 book on Bout, “Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible,” said Russian authorities are concerned over what might be revealed if Bout goes on trial in the U.S.
“Viktor Bout was very much a creature of the Russian state,” Farah said.
The co-author of the book, Stephen Braun, is an editor at the Washington bureau of The Associated Press.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.
