Russia and the US yesterday completed one of the most notorious and unequal swaps in recent years by exchanging basketball player Brittney Griner, convicted of cannabis possession, for the arms dealer known as the “merchant of death”, Víktor But, who He was serving 25 years in a US prison.
“He is safe, he is on a plane. He is coming home, ”announced Joe Biden, president of the United States, on his Twitter account, alluding to Griner.
But was pardoned by Biden and Griner by Russian President Vladimir Putin, paving the way for their exchange yesterday in the United Arab Emirates.
“On December 8, 2022, at the Abu Dhabi airport, the exchange of the Russian citizen Víktor But for the American Brittney Griner, who were serving sentences in US and Russian penal institutions, respectively, was successfully completed,” reported the Russian Foreign Ministry. it’s a statement.
An unequal exchange
The exchange is clearly unequal. Griner is an athlete to whom the doctors in her country recommended the use of cannabis to relieve her knee pain. She is a world and Olympic champion with her country, she has been a member of a Russian team for several seasons.
Instead, But was sentenced to 25 years in prison for, among other things, conspiring to kill US citizens and selling weapons to the Colombian FARC. The Department of Justice accused the “merchant of death” of selling to the FARC some 800 surface-to-air missiles, 5, AK-47 assault rifles, C-4 explosives and antipersonnel mines.
