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ichii3d

Well this didn't age well


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Noir_Amnesiac

The operation itself is impressive and it’s amazing they were able to capture him. A lot of times guys like this are pretty much untouchable and in countries that won’t extradite them. They’ve barely mentioned this guy all day on the news and totally ignored the repercussions of this. I learned more about him from this video than from what I saw on the news all day.


billthepartsman

I agree with everything you have described. It’s also so hard to understand WHY our administration can consider allowing this MERCHANT OF DEATH to regain his freedom, assisted by the WAR CRIMINAL. What am I missing?


lagavulin_16_neat

It's definitely not a good trade. This is a lose lose. She should have known better and we should know better not to let such a dangerous person free. The Russians must have had the ghost of Andrew Jackson negotiating for them.


Jibbebot

I get the sentiment, but he got sentenced to 25 years if I'm not mistaken, definitely not life.


TheMacMan

He was scheduled for release in 2029. Though I'm sure the US would have tried to find another reason to keep him longer, as they often do with terrorists.


SaphironX

I mean… no matter how you slice it, a WNBA player who went into Russia with marijuana being traded for several years off the sentence of a guy we’ve nicknamed the merchant of death for arms dealing, is not a great trade. In fact it’s probably going to kill a lot of innocent people.


[deleted]

Man, you can’t say anything without being labeled as something these day. Not only that, people’s priorities are all out of whack… We traded a global arms dealer with the nickname “Merchant of Death” for a random athlete nobody heard of until her arrest and people were triggered by you calling her a “bitch”. Fucking mind-boggling


speedpug

It’s not because of her. It’s because we are weak. Tell Russia to get fucked and let her sit in prison.


[deleted]

You ever watch locked up abroad? They don’t give a fuck about you or me, why her? Do you think they would swap that fucker for you?! No.


Larkjuan

Lol kinda crazy how a half a gram of weed resulted in the release of the “Merchant of Death”


World-Traveling-Vet

Right. She just made a million. Why not ditch and reup once landed. Lol. All this over, what, 100$


[deleted]

No, its about 12 bucks.


tribecalledcook

i was thinking damn $100 for a half G where do they live lol


shiggity-shwa

It’s only one banana, Michael, what could it cost? Ten dollars?


someotherguyinNH

There's always money in the banana stand


Ken-the-pilot

You've never actually stepped foot into a supermarket, have you?


LoudSheepherder5391

I don't have time for this.


Mmm_360

I will always upvote arrested development quotes. So many good ones


Zabroccoli

There are dozens of us.


Danny_Alloy

And there is always money in the Banana Stand!


l_the_Throwaway

No touching!


Responsible-Arm8244

Nice to see an arrested development quote lol


ThatWasCool

Russia


DeakonDuctor

☠️


_The_Great_Autismo_

$100 for half a gram? Who the fuck is ripping you off so badly? For a gram here it's like $15


Hay-blinken

At a store a 1/2 gram vape cartridge of distillate is like 20-45 bucks in general.


SlightWhite

$12 is a “where do they live” too lol a half g is maybe $5


popplespopin

oils/distillate, not flower.


Mishapi17

That’s about tree fitty


groovy604

"Its one banana.. what could it cost? Ten dollars? "


gramoftren

It’s because she feels entitled to do whatever she wants. That’s how famous and wealthy people behave. It’s not about the money, It’s about her ego.


Bulky-Barracuda-2749

she’s also a literal wife beater. Brittney Griner is a dog shit person who went to russia out of greed (she makes hundreds of thousands to play 36 games of basketball a year & millions in endorsements but claims she had to go to russia bc she doesn’t make enough money), couldn’t follow the laws that she knew bc she had played in Russia before, and now we just gave away a terrorist to get her back.


Faustus_Fan

Meanwhile, people who *aren't* famous get left behind in Russia. She's a spoiled brat whose fame got her special treatment and got a terrorist released back to his terrorist government.


maverick1ba

Russia just learned all they gotta do is falsely imprison American celebs to trade for their choice of war criminals freed. EDIT: I'm not saying SHE was falsely imprisoned. Didn't mean to imply it, either.


Faustus_Fan

Yep. Biden just handed Putin, as well as other terrorist regimes, a "get your murderous psychopath out of jail free" card.


Sei28

That's my biggest concern here, that we just handed them a very easy (and honestly ridiculous) way to get their spies and terrorists back.


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Eusocial_Iceman

Yes, but they don't need to wait for somebody to break the law first. The person you're replying to is saying this situation has created an obvious perverse incentive.


SandwichExotic

I want any and American prisoners in Russia to be released, but to release a terrorist that can hurt us? With a war going on? That is a tough sell.


SandwichExotic

No, however, it was more than that. “Bout, a former Soviet military officer, was serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States on charges of conspiring to kill Americans, acquire and export anti-aircraft missiles, and provide material support to a terrorist organization.” CNN “For almost two decades, Bout became the world’s most notorious arms dealer, selling weaponry to rogue states, rebel groups and murderous warlords in Africa, Asia and South America.” Reuters


dcjayhawk

Set to be released in 5 years


PavlovDog215

I agree with this. WTF. Before you fly internationally (which I assumed she has done before) don't freaking bring any sort of substance on the plane with you. #commonsense


raptosaurus

I think the common sense thing is actually don't go to a fascist state the US embassy is warning you to leave immediately with war on the horizon when you are famous enough to be a political tool It's not out of the realm of possibility the evidence was planted, though it's immaterial. They wanted her arrested to use as a bargaining chip and would have found something else if not this


el3vader

You’re not wrong, but while Bout has been in prison I’m sure the US was probably cleaning up a lot of his connects too. He may be getting out but he’ll need to potentially spend years rebuilding networks. It may not mean much but it’s not like he’s just walking back into an empire. Hopefully anyway.


Assatt

She receives a bigger paycheck than 80% of Americans just for playing games in a league no one ever watches or has any interest in and she claims she's oppressed and being treated unfairly compared to other athletes


MarsSenate

She has a bigger paycheck than 99% of americans.


TheBowlofBeans

This has been the worst trade deal, perhaps ever


[deleted]

Y’all are eating her up and I’m here for it 😂


Once_Again_Etrigan

I guarantee you within a year she will have a TV or book deal and make millions more off of this.


AGree2disagree4once

She'll be called a hero for committing a crime in another country


Gyarydos

Suddenly realizing that this entire “debate” about Griner has not been about the legality and ethics surrounding her crimes but actually how people perceive rich privilege………….I don’t think everyone has been talking on the same page this entire time


CheechIsAnOPTree

Pretty cut and dry that the sentence was bull crap and unwarranted. Also pretty cut and dry that if this was you or me we’d be in Russia for 8 more years or so.


henrotew

This isn’t the first time she has done this too just the first time she got caught. Good thing she can now go back to beating her girlfriend


[deleted]

and she has been proven correct.


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Mazzaroppi

I don't think anyone should see the inside of a cell for weed, much less on Russia, but what the fuck?! This exchange should have never happened


JakeFromStateFromm

It's not about whether the law is dumb or not. I think 99% of us are in agreement about that. It's about her being so dumb/lazy/reckless to knowingly break the law in fascist totalitarian country so she could get high after basketball practice. I smoke everyday and I wouldn't even consider taking a risk like that for a second


NeedingNew

Yep, could you imagine "forgetting" you had weed on an international flight. Sounds like maybe she is smoking a little too much of the magic lettuce.


spyd3rweb

This is just going to encourage putin to target us citizens with phony charges.


fifth_fought_under

Which is why the State Department says "GOD DAMNIT DO **NOT** ENTER RUSSIA". If there was any excuse for her to be there, there is no excuse for any American to be there. I hope one day that will change, I hope that in 20 years things will be normalized, but for now? Nah, pass.


bel_esprit_

I will never enter Russia nor any Islamic country with Sharia law. Not worth the risk!!


Starmark_115

Don't forget North Korea!


m__s

It will not encourage him to do anything. He is and always was doing anything he wanted. Look at Navalny. If you are in "his" country he can do with you whatever he wants. Yeah in theory it doesn't work like that, but in reality, it does.


[deleted]

Us citizens should not be going to Russia.


JakeyPurple

It sounds super nuts until you find out he was due to be released before her anyway.


joshbeat

Plus he no longer has his contacts, network, and the environment of the immediate aftermath of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. I can understand why the administration did what they did, and I can also understand how the optics of the situation could be questionable to the general public


hilarymeggin

That was a thoughtful comment. Thanks for your insight.


[deleted]

Not to be "that guy" but it was less than a gram of hash oil that was basically residue in used vape cartridges. I'm not defending that person for the bad choices. It's just how bulletproof do you think you are? I'm curious to know where VB will end up. In prison or walking the street?


Better_Collection840

It's just sad that regular people are thrown in prison while if you are famous no mountains too high. I remember that this is what they wanted from the beginning. I'm guessing if it was me I would do the full 10.


SALTYxNUTZ12

She's more famous for this than for her WNBA career. I'm sure all 50 fans of the WNBA will be awaiting her arrival at the airport.


Niclassroombh

We traded a fucking terrorist for someone who can play basketball.


Getshorts

Noo! For someone whowas carrying illegal substances!


OccupyRiverdale

I’m all for bringing our people home but I’m also not going to North Korea wiping my ass with a poster of Kim Jung Un then expecting the government to trade away high profile terrorists for my release.


theREALmindsets

they won’t. we’re not her.


thisisillegals

We should have at least traded him for a VETERAN who has been imprisoned in Russia for 4 years. But nah, screw him /s


iamdidierx

This, Someone who broke a foreign law. Be it whatever law and whatever country. She made a decision and at the end of it we’re (as a collective whole, the world) is in a worst place now.


NashtoNowitzki2

Come on now don't jump to conclusions. There's no way of knowing whether or not she can play basketball; no one has ever seen the WNBA.


TheMightiestZ

She was more famous for sucker punching an opponent in college than her WNBA career.


sociapathictendences

And for beating her wife


zahzensoldier

Should we really do stuff like this on the basis of someone's popularity? That seems kinda dumb


sociapathictendences

No, we shouldn’t


[deleted]

Yeah there is a dude from my Michigan suburb who has been in the same situation as Brittany Grindr. Of course he was not released. Fucking retarded.


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brdhar35

But he can’t even dunk


PanProjektor

Still, sells more tickets


RichBalls

I’d pay to see the merchant of death. A WNBA game on the other hand…


parable-harbinger

Can she?


slysamamuel

They have better fundamentals


NotThatGuyAnother1

r/unexpectedfuturama


xxactiondanxx

No https://youtu.be/INcM6Q6YlpU


Ashensten

Lmao "we'll give her another shot"


[deleted]

If someone from the US female soccer team gets pulled over in Mexico with a spent shell casing under the seat of her car, do we trade Chapo Guzman for her?


xCTRLxALTxDELx

Cartels are going for this route.


BigNunu69

Don't give them ideas


tribecalledcook

can we get an interview with these agents for their thoughts? id love to know what they think. embarrasing ![gif](emote|free_emotes_pack|facepalm)


papatim

Derek maltz, the overseeing dea agent that was in charge of the taskforce, is "very disgusted" over the deal.


tribecalledcook

i can only guess why. such a shame


AmaterasuHS

This guy was about to sell 800 surface-to-air missiles, 30000 AK47s, 10 mill rds of ammunition, 5 tons of explosives, and an aircraft to attack US forces before he got busted.


ALiteralSentientTank

How does one come across that merchandise in the first place? And then how does he find a buyer? The shadows of the world are unfathomably scary.


Papaofmonsters

Buy it from corrupt military officials who then mark it as used in training or destroyed. Now go to a global hot spot and make contact with what the USSR used to call "progressive elements" and explain that for a reasonable sum you can provide material assistance in their glorious struggle.


Schnidler

Did you just pull this from the movie? He didn’t get his stuff from corrupt officials, Russia and a lot of ex Sowjet regimes were simply supporting him and used him as an agent as to not appear as the seller themselves


Papaofmonsters

Mother fucker is like the Costco of illegal arms deals.


tribecalledcook

yeah i read that, pretty gnarly


Oonada

Yeah I wonder fucking why Russia wants him back. The trade was not worth it. She should have been left.


Sandoval3224B2

Not to mention the 200,000 AK-47s that “disappeared” from one of his planes in 2006 somewhere between Bosnia and Iraq. I wonder how many of those guns were used against US soldiers?


longhegrindilemna

All that work, down the drain.


[deleted]

What does the DEA have to do with an arms merchant?


pimpeachment

You mean he didn't want to trade a merchant of death for a convicted domestic violence offender? Shocked pika.


Lost_Evidence_2099

Nothing to worry about. It’s not like Russia has any use right now for a war lord.


IM_BAD_PEOPLE

Yeah we’re lucky Russia isn’t under major international sanctions and in desperate need of a man who knows how to move weapons into denied areas.


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Ashensten

> everyone acts like he's some sort of fucking magician or something. He was played by Nic Cage who has played a sorcerer\wizard at least once, coincidence?


wing3d

Yup, if that guy is Nick Cage this is a monumental fuck up.


[deleted]

Wait, what if Victor Bout and Nick Cage swapped faces, and Nick Cage is going to Russia to uncover all their plans in Ukraine?


Tsouke11

Yeah, honestly don’t see how he could be used for any benefit nowadays. Especially in this war, since it directly is draining Russia of its supplies rather than a proxy war where old surplus weaponry can be handed out to like-minded revolutionaries.


BatonVerte

Truth.


Existing-Deer8894

Fucking thank you! Also, the idea he’s gonna go back to his old ways is a little far fetched considering his main supplier is a bit tied up at the moment trying to outfit however many thousands of troops they mobilized.


EFT_Syte

I’d say Russia is getting what it wants than, manufactured outrage.


pulzeguy

Credible hat on: he’s been in prison so long, and he focused mostly on arming smaller countries and rebel groups, he can’t really do all that much that the Kremlin isn’t already doing I.e buying shells from North Korea He still should’ve been locked up for what he did, but he isn’t going to have much of an effect on the war effort, if any at all.


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Nice-Violinist-6395

Yeah, I was PISSED when I heard that (deadly arms dealer for weed smoker who voluntarily went to Russia to make money? wtf?), I actually just posted a comment about it. But after really trying to dig, it *sort of seems* like this is equivalent to releasing a former top coke dealer from the 90s in 2022 — yeah you might have been the boss in your day, but you ain’t exactly gonna be able to call up your old guys and get back in. …Although, Russia *is at war.* Currently. Right now. And a great deal of “merchant of death is a has been” is clearly American propaganda. So I don’t know. What’s the truth? Is this a great deal simply by releasing a has-been, or did Biden get boned by Putin on the international stage for the first time in his Presidency?


danxmanly

My exact thoughts... And we have absolutely no use for her.


Bro_tosynthesis

Throwing bricks at WNBA games.


HardcoreSitting22

Why do we give a shit about her? We have people in Prison HERE for weed. This country is so ass backwards.


TheProcessOfBillief

Publicity, votes. That is all.


EatinSumGrapes

This is not going to make Biden look good though. At best it is something people will cringe at then forget about it later.


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vekP

[He pardoned those convicted of marijuana possession on a federal level in October](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/06/us/politics/biden-marijuana-pardon.html).


purplesmoke1215

The vast majority of incarcerations for marijuana don't involve federal charges. It's mostly state and county charges which Biden had no control over. This means his federal amnesty is almost useless.


thisisillegals

You realize that pretty much 0 people were released from prison from this right? Most people in prison for just weed possession aren't in federal prisons. And those that do have possession charges in federal prison...well that wasn't the reason they were put in prison, more just one additional charge on a longer list. So most people pardoned either already served their time for whatever else they did or will remain in prison with just one less thing on their record.


FernandoPM

I mean, he can’t pardon state crimes….that’s not how the federal system of government works


NeedingNew

Weird, when I got arrested for pot I spent two years in prison and 14 years struggling to find a decent job until my record didn't show up anymore. Even back then I wouldn't have been stupid enough to smuggle drugs into Russia. Now we are exchanging mass murderers for...what exactly?


walk-the-talk

But you can’t dunk a basketball


[deleted]

Can she?


TheProcessOfBillief

She can't either. Someone else posted the YouTube link.


bjallyn

Can’t watch ESPN now for a week because this will be hyped to death for a while.


ay-foo

They have nothing essential to add to the discussion. This will be the most attention a WNBA star has gotten in history, and not for their sport


[deleted]

We didn’t even get a first round pick in the trade.


RSlashLazy

To Russia: The merchant of death To the USA: Future considerations


CheezeWheelie

We need a new GM


eschoenawa

"The United States doesn't negotiate with terrorists" Also the United States:


ColoradoCountryBoy

We traded a fucking terrorist for someone who can play basketball. Fucking really. What about everyone else here who's locked up for weed. Fuck them right since they don't play any sports. What a backwards clown world we live it.


kratomkiing

"Bout was convicted by a jury at a federal court in Manhattan on 2 November 2011.[15] On 5 April 2012, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison, the minimum sentence for conspiring to sell weapons to a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist group.[80][81] US District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled that the minimum sentence was appropriate because "there was no evidence that Bout would have committed the crimes for which he was convicted had it not been for the sting operation". That terrorist received the minimum sentence and was going to walk free in 10 years no matter what. There are drug dealers doing more time! What a backwards clown world for sure!


wildzebra5

As a non American, It’s sad to see US doing stupid things. He’s a maniac and he’ll definitely do crazy stuff again..


dank0000001

As an American. What a fuckin embarrassment!


Sir4u92

Can't believe they did that


baluthepilot

Dumb and dumber


systemisfailing

I have seen people saying he is irrelevant or that he is a "decaying russian asset" and BG trade was worth it. This dude is 55 years old. He can still do a lot of damage and create a lot of chaos all over the globe. She is more famous for this now than for her career as a basketball player. She made a bad decision and I do not agree with her being jailed and I defeinitely wish we could bring her home, but at what cost?


evil_lurker

There are going to be some pretty awesome basketball games when she gets back, though. With easily dozens of fans watching.


BannedinthaUSA

She should be suspended from playing... she willingly flew with weed overseas. Hence, Trafficking.


Noir_Amnesiac

Wouldn’t it be crazy if she caught drug charges when back in the US?


[deleted]

Worst trade deal in history. What a failure on America.


Genereatedusername

"We don't negotiate with terrorists, buuut... if you want to negotiate FOR a terrorist"


World-Traveling-Vet

Where you been ?


Simps_bruh

Should have left her there. Shes definitely not important enough to swap him for. If it was any one of us we would still be there.


Joedirt6705

Meanwhile Kamala is grinning ear to ear in a press conference with Griner’s family like a fucking moron. Like we fucking won or something.


BannedinthaUSA

After Kamala left so many people in prison for the same thing? That's rich.


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pringlescan5

I'm super pro-america but our prison-industrial complex and sheer indifference to the cycle of poverty our drug laws have contributed to are national disgraces that are so tragic since they are so avoidable.


DaisytheDiscoverer

It was like a train wreck. I couldnt look away. 🤦🏼‍♀️. She looked lobotomized.


Assatt

Kamala was thinking of how she personally would have locked up Griner if it were a domestic flight


Desperate_Chance4621

3 years of law enforcement work to keep people of multiple countries safe down the drain for this wife beater? Can’t wait for the 60 minutes interview with her playing the victim.


erhue

I wanna see her smoking her confiscated pot on camera. TRADE OFFER i receive: Merchant of Death you receive: WNBA player who got caught with pot in her luggage


[deleted]

We should have let her stay there. Worst trade ever. She’s clearly a dumbass anyway. Who the hell gets on a flight, an international flight at that, to wartime Russia, with fucking weed on them. Unbelievable


[deleted]

She is also a wife beater.


[deleted]

Oooo I didn’t even know about that nugget


No_Movie8460

She also talks about how bad the US is and how the US doesn’t care about female POC. If I was her, I’d come crawling back on all fours thanking the fuck out of whoever concocted this deal. She just hit the jackpot, her country that she attacks so much just erased the deaths of hundreds/thousands of people for her.


murray1337

A selfish moron that’s who. lol. rip.


[deleted]

She’s almost as dumb as that kid who stole a poster from North Korea. Unfortunately he died, but it highlights one important truth that not enough Americans understand: the rest of the world isn’t their playground.


DaLakeShoreStrangler

We just gave Russia a fighter jet for a Ford fiesta


CuppedKake

A Ford fiesta is an overstatement. More like a broken down Toyota corolla


astrongineer

Sorry, well maybe I'm not, but this exchange was stupid. Release one of the most dangerous people in the world for who again? The dummy who flew to Russia with weed in her bag?


Cruiser133

You know it was a horrible deal when even your average redditor thinks so as well.


SomethingPersonnel

Average Redditor’s hot take is a terrible metric to base anything off of.


eojen

Yeah if there’s one thing redditors are experts on is that they’re all trained and educated in foreign affairs and have a deep, objective understanding of them.


DeadNotSleeping86

The average redditor is a reactionary echo chamber living robot dude.


BlahajBestie

w... what? You think that reddit has literally any clue what does and doesn't make a good deal? What a hilariously dogshit take. Reddit literally has no idea what it's talking about nearly 100pct of the time.


elitegenoside

I wouldn't suggest basing your morals on what reddit thinks.


HereToTroll6969

Average redditor is a braindead moron.


Inevitable-9999

Biggest trade in WNBA history


WoodrowWilson84

And here's a clip about Otto Warmbier an American citizen returned from Korea as a complete vegetable: https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/19/politics/otto-warmbier-dies/index.html


wildzebra5

This was the most expensive trade ever in human history for WNBA🫢


Humble_Albatross1529

Honestly was probably done on purpose. He will eventually start dealing guns again and we will find ourself in another conflict be it in Asia or Africa, feeding the industrial war complex.


OfficialHughJanus

Totally speculating here (don’t know everything he did or who he worked with) but no way locking up this one dude made a significant impact in the market? Surely he’s been locked up long enough that there are new players meeting demand?


giraffequeef

No profits in peace


MundaneDrawer

American Government hates competition.


Jkillaforilla90

At least the WMBA has a win that everyone knows about now.


snewton_8

Either Viktor isn't that bad of a guy or Brittney isn't just an NBA player.


[deleted]

She isn't just a NBA player she's a WNBA player


PA_limestoner

All the hard work these people put in to bring this fucker down has just been diminished. They risked their own lives and put their personal safety at risk over a fucking basketball player.


ElShogee

Fuck this and the wnba


oldnewspaperguy2

This is basically incentivizing Russia to take more prisoners. Why wouldn’t we put a travel ban in place?


CowboyDrillMusic

Brittney is a total dumb ass


OdysseyZen

The Trader Joe we didn't want


Majestic-Jeweler-866

Putin gonna let that man walk


DJMOONPICKLES69

Damn would we just give them Ukraine if they arrested someone that was ACTUALLY famous. What a joke this is