'Merchant of Death' could walk

The 42-year-old Viktor Bout, a former Soviet military officer, has long been regarded by many veteran U.S. counter-terrrorism and intelligence officials as the ultimate "transnational criminal". He's like a character straight out of a James Bond movie. He has avoided capture for years as he allegedly supplied weapons of war to the Taliban, Liberian dictator Charles Taylor, and a host of other rogue regimes, drug traffickers, and criminal organizations.

Bout was apprehended by Thai police in a Bangkok luxury hotel last year as part of a DEA sting operation. Bout has been indicted in a New York federal court for conspiring to supply the
Colombian FARC with 700 surface-to-air missiles, thousands of guns, and airplanes outfitted with grenade launchers and missiles. Under U.S. law, supplying weapons to any such organization can
be prosecuted in American courts.

The successful prosecution of Viktor Bout in Thailand or elsewhere seems highly unlikely. Last February Thailand made its first purchase ever of Russian helicopters, buying six Mi-17 choppers for $9 million a piece. And in August, a Thai criminal court rejected the U.S. government's extradition request on grounds that the FARC was a legitimate political organization and not a bona fide terrorist group. The U.S., working with the Thai attorney general's office, immediately appealed. But late last month, judges on the Thai appellate court secretly met with the arms dealer, his lawyer, and translator on Sept. 15—without anybody from the U.S. Embassy or the Thai attorney general's office being notified of the session.

For more on Vicktor Bout:

Read the novel Merchant of Death.

Click here for the source of this blog post.

The film Lord of War is based loosely on the life of Bout.