“He’s the LeBron James of Arms Dealing,” Hasan Piker gives bold take after Viktor Bout gets released from US clutches
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Viktor Bout getting released in the prisoner exchange, Hasan Piker
Streamer and YouTuber Hasan Piker was fascinated by the events after the notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout and the American basketball player Brittney Griner were traded at a U.A.E. airport last week. As a result of public outcry that put pressure on both governments, the two countries came to an agreement to return both of them back to their home countries.
In order to get to Russia for her WNBA Off-season competition, Brittney Griner was caught with cannabis and spent 294 days in detention there. However, Joe Biden eventually revealed this week that they were able to free the WNBA star from the Russian prison after a lengthy legal dispute and numerous ups and downs in the case. But it also meant that notorious Russian arms trader Viktor Bout would be freed.
Hasan Piker recently shared his amazement at discovering that Brittney Griner had actually been exchanged with a prominent Russian weapons dealer, indicating that the nation had likely planned this outcome from the very beginning. Bout’s nicknames of Death, Lord of War, and “the Bill Gates of Arms Dealing”—speak for themselves.
During a stream, Piker said: “Overall it’s a good trade. At least, Brittney is a part of being in the WNBA and has strong fundamentals. I’m no Scout. I haven’t been watching her entire career, but I know across the board she has the fundamentals. He does not.”
He also mentioned Bout stating: “He is the LeBron James of arms dealing. He is not the LeBron James of ball-playing. They didn’t throw any draft picks in.”
Who is Viktor Bout and why was he incarcerated in the US?
Viktor Bout, who received his training as an interpreter at the Soviet Military Institute of Foreign Languages in Moscow, served as a translator for the Soviet army in Angola for a short period of time in the late 1980s, eventually achieving the rank of lieutenant. He first gained fame in the chaotic early years following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
He had access to a sizable fleet of aircraft from the Soviet era and a sizable store of excess weapons there that helped launch his career as an arms dealer. Bout is thought to have provided the Taliban and the Northern Alliance with weapons throughout his decades-long career in places including Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Angola, and many others.
With multiple international arrest orders filed against him, Bout—who is said to speak six languages—became renowned as one of the most wanted individuals in the world. In a stunning US undercover operation in which undercover DEA agents pretended to be rebels, Bout was finally captured in 2008 at a hotel in Bangkok.
He was caught on camera trying to sell weapons for use against Americans. He was given a 25-year prison term in a New York court four years later. Bout was ultimately released last week in the Brittney Griner swap after serving 12 years in US prisons.
Also Read: Who is Viktor Bout and why Merchant of Death was swapped for Brittney Griner?
Did Hasan Piker forget Paul Whelan just like the US Government did?
Former President Donald Trump fought against trading Viktor Bout for a number of American inmates, including a one-for-one trade for Paul Whelan, an American Marine who the US also believes was unlawfully imprisoned. Whelan has been imprisoned in Russia for almost four years after being found guilty of espionage. He was not included in the prisoner trade that earlier this year released American Trevor Reed.
His family and supporters have been pleading with the US to negotiate his release for the past four years after he was sentenced to 16 years in jail in 2020. Whelan expressed dissatisfaction that more had not been done to secure his freedom when Brittney Griner was freed, but POTUS Joe Biden assured him that they hadn’t forgotten about him.
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Irvin Philip
(701 Articles Published)