Although the illegal international arms trade is not new, it has recently suffered serious setbacks. A key player, known to supply small arms, as well as ammunition and vehicles, was apprehended in March 2008 in Thailand by the Royal Thai Police. In August 2010, after months of legal judo and letters between the Secretary of State and Congress, one of the biggest players in the illegal arms trade was extradited to the United States of America for be tried for conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, conspiring to kill Americans, conspiring to kill U.S. officers or employees, conspiring to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles, illegal purchase of aircraft, electronic fraud and money laundering. This “merchant of death” is none other than the national of the Soviet Union, Viktor Bout. He was born in Dushanbe, USSR on January 13, 1967. Although it is known that he worked for the Soviet army as a translator, there are no clear records indicating what rank he held. Some people said he was discharged in 1991 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, but others say he was a major in the GRU (a special division of the Soviet Army focused on intelligence and intelligence services). special forces). Although it is not clear at what rank he was discharged, it is known that Viktor was fluent in six different languages, including English, French, Spanish, German and Portuguese, and he claimed to have learned several African languages ​​thanks to his time spent in the region. Although he was linguistically gifted, he was also fortunate to have old contacts in the Soviet army with whom he remained close and whom he would use in his early aviation adventures. After Viktor left military service, the Soviet Union was in a difficult situation... middle of paper. .....08 by the Royal Thai Police in collaboration with and under political pressure from the CIA. After two years, the “dealer of death” was extradited to the United States on multiple charges related to his arms and cargo trafficking activities. It will be interesting to see where his trial goes and how Russia responds due to its deep knowledge of their "shadow" state and its immense knowledge of the African warlords who continue to ravage the continent. His trial is scheduled to begin on September 12, 2011. Works Cited • Mark Bromley and Hugh Griffiths, End-User Certificates: Improving Standards to Prevent Diversion • www.wassenaar.org • Noehrenberg, EH (1995). Multilateral Export Controls and International Regime Theory: The Effectiveness of COCOM• (1993) COCOM Lists and Notes, DTI• Douglas Farah and Stephen Braun, Merchant of Death, Hoboken, New Jersey, 2007