Viktor Bout, better knowns as the ‘Merchant of Death’, and a key figure in the recent U.S./Russia prisoner swap is back in business.
According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the notorious arms dealer is back home in Russia and is reportedly selling weapons to the Houthis, an Iranian-backed terrorist group in Yemen.
The Houthis have launched countless attacks against merchant vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden over the last year, following Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack.
They have also launched attacks against Israel and U.S. Navy warships. They’ve also shot down several U.S. surveillance drones that cost more than $30 million each.
The Houthis encountered Bout when they traveled to Moscow a couple of months ago “to negotiate the purchase of $10 million worth of automatic weapons.”
In an interview with Russian media, Bout said that the allegation that he was selling weapons again was “baseless.”
The Houthis were traveling to Moscow under the guise of needing to purchase “pesticides and vehicles,” the WSJ report said.
The WSJ report said it wasn’t clear if Bout was acting on behalf of the Russian government or if he merely had its “tacit approval” to conduct the negotiation.
Bout was released as part of a prisoner swap in December 2022 for WNBA player Brittney Griner, who was convicted of drug charges in Russia in August 2022.
Bout was convicted on terrorism charges back in 2011 for trying to sell tens of millions of dollars worth of missiles to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) for the purpose of shooting down U.S. Military helicopters, according to The Daily Wire.