Arms dealer Viktor Bout, sometimes known as the “Merchant of Death,” has invited 45th President Donald Trump to seek refuge in Russia after himself being freed in exchange for female basketball player Brittney Griner last year.
Russian media has reported that Bout sent a Telegram to Trump after his New York arrest, warning that the former president’s life is in danger, and inviting him to the Russian Federation to lead an “uprising against the globalists.”
“Today I sent a telegram to former US President Donald Trump,” said Bout, per a translation. “First of all, I believe his life is in danger.”
“The trial that began in New York will not end simply with the fact that Donald Trump will be convicted and will not be allowed to participate in the elections,” said Bout, apparently moments after sending the telegram from the Central Telegraph in Moscow.
In the telegram itself, Bout reportedly warned Trump that the Biden administration, or its allies, would assassinate Trump before allowing him to retake the White House.
Viktor Bout prepares to be extradited from Thailand to the United States between 2008-2009
“I believe your life is in peril,” warned Bout. “The Biden administration will not stop just by dragging you through the court/prison industrial complex,” he added. “They would sooner end your life than let you stand in their way.”
The arms dealer then promised Trump that he would find “safe haven and from here you can lead the fight for the American people” in Russia.
Bout had a shady career in the Soviet Union’s KGB, and after the nation collapsed, became a successful arms dealer and the inspiration of the 2005 Nicolas Cage movie “Lord of War.”
In 2011, Bout was convicted in the United States on terrorism charges for attempting to sell missiles to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, which intended to use the weapons to shoot down U.S. Military helicopters in the region.
After Bout was freed from his 25-year sentence for selling missiles to terrorists – exchanged by the Biden administration for a WNBA player who brought a small amount of cannabis concentrate into the Russian Federation – Moscow’s press celebrated by claiming the country attained a “position of power” over the United States.
Since regaining his freedom, Bout seems to have become a public relations fixture for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Only days after his arrest, Bout was captured by Russian media photographers in the Russian-controlled city of Luhansk, part of the territory occupied by the country since the Ukraine conflict began in February of 2022.
