The man nicknamed the “Merchant of Death,” whom President Joe Biden exchanged in a prisoner swap for a U.S. basketball player convicted of drug charges in Russia, has declared his candidacy for political office in his home country.

Russian armaments dealer Viktor Bout, who was imprisoned in the United States in 2010 and ultimately convicted of arming a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, among other charges, served approximately ten years of his 25-year sentence before Joe Biden intervened to exchange him for WNBA player Brittney Griner.

In 2022, however, Biden released Bout from federal custody and allowed him to return to Russia, where he was greeted as a hero.

Now that he has declared his candidacy as a member of Russia’s ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, he is positioning himself to acquire even more power and influence, according to Reuters.

“Bout had been nominated as a candidate for the legislative assembly of the Ulyanovsk region in central Russia,” the wire service said.

Upon his return to Russia, Bout joined the LDPR, an ultranationalist, far-right party that vehemently supports President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Bout told the media in December that he supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine and that he might volunteer for service, though he never did.

“I fully support, if I had the opportunity and the skills necessary, I would, of course, volunteer,” Bout told Russia Today according to TACC.

Since Biden has returned Bout to Russia, he is now positioning himself as a politician who will promote Russian nationalism and belligerence.

Bout is not the LDPR’s only notorious member. Reuters reported that party member Andrei Lugovoi, who has served in the Russian parliament since 2007, is sought in the United Kingdom for the 2006 assassination of ex-KGB officer and Putin critic Alexander Litvinenko.

More on this story via The Western Journal:

Viktor “Merchant of Death” Bout was arrested by U.S. agents during a sting in Thailand in 2008 and extradited him to the U.S., where he was charged with conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, conspiring to kill Americans, conspiring to kill American officers or employees, conspiring to acquire and use an anti-aircraft missile, illegal purchase of aircraft, wire fraud, and money laundering.

“The U.S. Department of Justice described him as one of the world’s most prolific arms dealers who had sold weapons across the globe to terrorists and America’s enemies for decades. Bout always denied the charges,” Reuters added. CONTINUE READING...