Russian ‘Merchant of Death’ Viktor Bout has been convicted by a New York jury on charges of trying to sell weapons to the Armed Revolutionary Forces of Columbia (FARC).
Prosecutors in the case said that Bout had stood to make millions of dollars from the sale of 100 surface-to-air missiles, 20,000 high-powered rifles and 10 millions rounds of ammunition to the rebels in 2008.
The defence maintains, however, that Bout’s intention was never to sell weapons, but rather to sell two cargo planes for a total of US$5 million. They have said that he will appeal the verdict.
Bout was captured during a sting operation that took place in Bangkok in 2008, when informants working for the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) posed as members of the Columbian guerrilla organisation. The informants told him they intended to use the weapons against US officials, to which he replied: “Yes, we have the same enemy.”
Although this conviction only relates to the attempted sale of weapons to FARC, Bout is suspected of having sold weapons to rebel groups and terrorist organisations all over the world, including in Africa and the Middle East.
Bout will be sentenced on 8th February 2012, and faces a maximum term of life imprisonment.
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