MOSCOW, September 24 (RIA Novosti) - Colombia...
Former Russian army officer Bout, 42, was arrested in Thailand in March 2008 during a sting operation led by U.S. agents.
The Bangkok Criminal Court refused in August to extradite Bout to the United States, where he is accused of conspiring with others to sell millions of dollars" worth of weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), among other illegal arms deals, and "threatening the lives of U.S. citizens."
In a 300-page letter from Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez, Bout is described as "a very dangerous illegal arms dealer" and suspected of attempting to sell 100 Russian-made 9K38 Igla man-portable infrared homing surface-to-air missiles (NATO code name Grouse missile) to FARC.
"We would like to draw attention to the on-going legal process in which, as we hope, the [Thai] authorities will not be able to release such an illegal arms dealer as Viktor Bout, who is dangerous to the entire world," the letter read.