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Less than two weeks ago, 10 Russian spies were arrested by federal officers and taken into custody. All ten pled guilty to failing to register as foreign agents and were ordered out of the country on Thursday.
Today, a U.S. chartered aircraft flew the 10 Russian spies accompanied by U.S. Marshals to an airport in Vienna, Austria where they were exchanged for four U.S. spies jailed by the Russian government. The 10 Russian spies served 11 days in jail each, while the four American spies served a combined total of 32 years.
Both the plane carrying the Russian spies and American spies landed safely in Moscow and Washington D.C.. Dean Boyd, a spokesman for the National Security Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, issued as statement which read, “The United States has successfully transferred 10 Russian agents to the Russian Federation and the Russian Federation has released four individuals who had been incarcerated in Russia.”
An 11th suspect has been lost as he was detained in Cyprus, released on bail and failed to return as per his bond agreement.
While very little is known about what information was gathered by these individuals, their speedy exit from the country seems to have been facilitated by the Russian government more than the American government. Vicky Pelaez, one such spy charged by the U.S., initially expressed an unwillingness to plead guilty or leave the country. In response, the Russian government offered her a $2,000 stipend per month for the rest of her life, as well as visas for Pelaez’s children to fly out and see her. Upon hearing this, she changed her plea to “Guilty.”
While the issue seems to be resolved at present, the hasty exchange of these spies is eerily reminiscent of the Cold War era and strained ties between Russia and the United States.
