At the trial, the prosecution said that during a 2008 sting operation by U.S. drugenforcementagents in Thailand, Bout believed he was selling weapons to Colombian guerrillas.
The mission -- carried out aboard helicopters owned by the U.S. State Department and with support of DrugEnforcement Administration agents -- laid bare the reach of U.S. involvement in Honduran security missions, as well as its associated risks.
It must have been a major disappointment to the FBI's New York field office when, in February 2000, DrugEnforcement Administration (DEA) agents arrested Gravano and others in connection with a massive ecstasy ring in Arizona.