A closer look at the man the
US swap with Russia
in exchange for the release of WNBA
star Brittney Griner.
CNN's Brian Todd has more on
the notorious arms dealer Viktor Boot.
As you know, Brian, some call him
the merchant of death.
That has been his
nom de guerre in the past, Wolf.
And as you know, Viktor Bout was rumored
for months
to be the key
part of any deal for Brittney Griner.
We have new information tonight on a man
believed to be an almost mythical player
in the murky world of arms dealing.
Viktor Bout is believed to have cut
a figure so legendary in the arms
trafficking underworld
that he's widely acknowledged
as the inspiration
for Nicolas Cage's character in the movie
Lord of War. The Arms Bazaar was open,
guarded missiles, unguided missiles,
mortars, mines,
armored personnel carriers,
whole tank divisions. He's notorious.
They made a movie about him,
and he provided arms
to all parts of the world
in contravention of international law.
Tonight, the man nicknamed
the Merchant of Death is back in Russia.
His 25 year
prison sentence
cut very short
in a prisoner swap for Brittney Griner.
Boot always denied breaking any laws.
But before
being apprehended in an elaborate
sting in Thailand in 2008,
he was believed to have funneled weapons
to war zones from Africa to Afghanistan.
Douglas Farah, coauthor
of a book on Viktor
Bout, says he was known
as a charismatic figure,
a devoted family man,
but also as a bully
who'd barge in on government meetings.
If you look at the wars
that were directly
impacted by his weapons deliveries,
you can see that they escalate
directly in proportion
to the amount of weapons arriving.
So I would say certainly,
you know, tens
of thousands of people suffered,
if not hundreds of thousands of people
because of the weapons
he was able to deliver.
Former CNN Moscow
bureau chief
Jill Dougherty interviewed Boot
in Moscow in 22.
At that time,
he denied accusations
that he'd sold weapons to the Taliban
and Al Qaeda.
Did you ever meet Osama bin Laden?
Unfortunately, I don't
have a chance to meet them,
if I would, on disposition
to meet them some way.
Maybe on that period
I would decide to do something to prevent
what happened.
I asked Jill
if Boot struck her as fearsome.
You know, at that point,
he really didn't.
He's kind of like a you know, a big,
goofy, goofy guy.
I did not get any vibes.
You know,
I guess you would expect somebody
with the rap like that
to be kind of scary and fearsome.
But he wasn't.
Western intelligence officials
said there was evidence boot
shipped arms
to fighters in Africa
in exchange for blood diamonds.
He denied it, but U.S.
officials say he routinely dealt
with people like ex Liberian
president and convicted warlord
Charles Taylor.
We interviewed a former DEA official
who took part in boots arrest in Thailand
who says there was no weapon, big
or small,
that Victor Boot
wouldn't sell to you for the right price.
A wide variety of weapons
ranging from anti aircraft
to air
and ground missiles
to air fifteens to a number of different
military grade weapons
that he intended
to supply to the pockets
Everest organization for the
purpose of killing Americans.
Victor Boots, lawyer, told
CNN in a statement that the prisoner swap
between his client and Brittney Griner
is, quote, fair.
The attorney said
that since Russia's ambassador
to the U.S.
visited boot in October
at the prison in Marion, Illinois,
where he was serving his sentence,
that boot had been very confident
he would be released,
Wolf, even in prison.
He had swagger.
Interesting indeed.
Brian Todd, thank you very, very much.
And joining us
now, Bill Richardson, the former U.S.
ambassador to the United Nations
and the former governor of New Mexico.
You played a very key role
in helping
secure the release of Brittney Griner,
as well as other Americans
who have been detained overseas.
Governor,
thank you so much for joining us.
I know you've been working closely
with Brittney Griner
as family to help get her out.
And I know you actually went
to Russia, recently
met with top officials there
in that effort.
What can you tell us about how this deal
came together?
All right.
Well, credit has
to go to the Biden administration
and the John Feiner,
the National Security Council
and the president
who made this tough decision to get
Brittney Griner out in exchange for.
But who's the bad guy?
An arms dealer.
I had been to Russia twice.
The good news is that we got a marine out
earlier and then Brittney Griner.
So we now have to get Paul.
We'll find out
the inside stuff is
I can't get too much into it.
But we were hoping for a two
for two Paul Wieland
and Brittney for Bode
and another Russian.
But at the end,
I think the geopolitical differences,
the bad relationship
between Russia
and the United States,
Russia said we'll do one for one.
And I think the president was right
to go ahead with Brittney Griner,
get her home to her family,
through her father, to her wife,
who I've been talking to constantly.
But now we got to concentrate
on Paul Wieland,
and I think we have to make an effort
to get them out
before the end of the year
because I think his family deserve that.
He's wrongfully detained.
He's a marine.
He deserves to come out.
He's been there and detained
for almost four years now.
Paul Wieland
spoke to CNN governor
about how Russia is treating him.
I want you to listen
to what he had to say.
Listen to this.
They've always considered me
to be at a higher level
than other criminals
of my sort and
for whatever reason,
I'm treated differently than another
individual here from a western country
that's also on a charge of espionage.
So even though we're both here
for espionage
untreated much differently than he is,
and my treatment is also much different
than others
held for espionage at other prisons.
So, Governor,
why is he treated so differently?
And where do you see
talks and wheeling going from here?
Well,
we have tried my foundation
for four years to get we want to
now and somehow it always falls short.
We tried it during the Trump
administration early on
in the Biden administration.
And it seems at the very end, possibly
because of the espionage charge,
because he's a marine,
because he is wrongfully detained.
The Russians
hold on to him at the very end,
and this is what happened again.
But that doesn't mean
that there isn't a possibility
that we can get him out.
I think we can.
I think that the conditions are good.
The good news is
we got this other Marine out
about four months ago.
His last name is Reed.
He was a young man
who was not treated properly.
Now Brittney Griner
and now the next as well.
And despite the fact,
Wolf, that the relationship
between Russia
and the United States
just keeps getting worse.
And that affects negotiations.
But I think the president
made a decision.
I think the Russians said
it'll be one for one.
And then the next move is way along.
But, you know, his family, his sister,
his brother now for years, you're right,
the guy needs to come out
and I think he will.
I'm optimistic.
I'm not negative.
But, you know, the relationship,
the Ukraine issue, the
the U.S.,
Russia, tensions on arms
control, on human rights,
it's not conducive to a negotiation.
Yet it did happen.
Brittney Griner is out on a negotiation.
So is Travis Reed.
So we got one more.
And there are others
also that
we're trying to get out other Americans.
There's one P.O.W.
in the Russian section of Ukraine.
Guernica Roshi,
who who's needs to come out, too.
So we got more to do,
but we'll and should be our next target.
And I think the president is doing
everything he can.
I got to say that his team,
John Finer,
the National Security Council,
the State Department,
they're working hard
and they're doing everything they can.
And we want to
thank you,
Governor Richardson,
for all you are doing as well
behind the scenes.
Really appreciate
your joining us tonight.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
All right. Thank you.