By: Andrew Lu

One of the Star Wars galaxy’s most notorious crime lords and illegal arms dealers was Jabba the Hutt. He’s pretty evil, right?

In this real-life case, we’re talking about Earth’s most notorious arms dealer, Viktor Bout, also known as “the Merchant of Death.” Bout sold illegal arms and deadly weapons to rebels, terrorists, and militaries from all over the world before being locked up for conspiring to kill Americans.

There are two U.S. citizens being held hostage in Russia. One is WNBA star, Brittney Griner. Another is a former marine. Griner was imprisoned because she got caught with a bit of hashish oil.

By no measure are these two U.S. citizens comparable to Bout. But the U.S. must protect its citizens – it’s the government’s top priority.

After finding out that Griner got caught, the Biden Administration proposed the deal. The Administration believes that Griner and the Marine were held on “trumped-up” charges by the Russian officials. International hostage trades are always unfair and never end up pretty. But for the Biden Administration’s political interests, the exchange must be done.

For Vladimir Putin in Russia, maybe he might have to do the trade. Putin used to have ties with Viktor Bout, and they were “colleagues.”

For both sides, the trade might end up more complicated than it is now. But if mankind wants to live in peace and actually be “united,” then maybe countries should be less aggressive with hostages.

Under the Biden Administration’s interests, they will do whatever they can to complete the trade. We can say that Griner and the former Marine will be back – sooner or later – when Putin isn’t fighting Ukraine anymore. But the world hostage “trade” should end, and countries shouldn’t hold innocent foreign citizens because of a political grudge.