Supposedly, the Russian government reportedly first proposed releasing Griner in exchange for Bout in May. Slow Joe is reportedly offering to release the convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in exchange for the release of U.S. Marine Veteran Paul Whelan and WNBA basketball player Brittney Griner, who are both being held in Russia.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Whelan was detained in Russia since 2018 and was convicted and sentenced in 2020 to 16 years in a Russian prison on espionage charges. He has maintained his innocence throughout his captivity in Russia.  Griner has been held in Russian custody since February on charges of illegal drug posession after a cartridge containing hashish oil was found in her luggage. She was traveling to Russia at the time to play in a Russian basketball league during the WNBA off season.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Bout served in the Soviet Armed Forces, and according to the  U.S. Department of Justice, had worked as an international weapons trafficker throughout the 1990s and 2000s. According to the Department of Justice, between November 2007 and March 2008, Bout agreed to sell weapons to the Columbian militant group Fueras Armadas Revolucionarias de Columbia (FARC) with the knowledge they would be used to target Americans in Columbia.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          According to the DOJ, the weapons Bout helped to sell included;  800 surface-to-air missiles (SAM's), 30,000 AK-47 firearms, 10 million rounds of ammunition, five tons of C-4 plastic explosives, ultralight airplanes outfitted with grenade launchers and unmanned aerial vehicles.  Western media nicknamed Bout the "Merchant of Death."  He was convicted in 2011 of conspiring to kill U.S. nationals, conspiring to kill U.S. officers and employees, conspiring to acquire and export anti-aircraft missiles and conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.  Bout is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence.