4 US convicted spies swapped for 10 Russian spies on Vision Airlines flight

The 11th suspect in an alleged Russian spy ring straight out of the Cold War has been <a href=

Friday, 4 US spies were swapped for 10 Russian spies aboard a Vision Airlines flight, the swap took place in Vienna, Austria. The exchange took place while the airplanes waited on the tarmac. Neither government confirmed the exchange until after it took place.

Thursday, 10 Russian agents pled guilty for intelligence gathering and failing to register as foreign agents and were expelled from the US, and had to leave all belongings behind.

“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,” Dean Boyd, a spokesman for the National Security Division at the U.S. Department of Justice said. “The exchange of these individuals took place in Vienna, Austria, and has been completed.”

Attorney General Eric Holder said that none of the Russian spies passed classified information and as a result were not charged with espionage.

The spies had lived in the US for more than a decade and were being watched by federal authorities, according to Holder. Their children were also sent home. The agents agreed that they would never return to the US without permission from the government.

The four people that were convicted of spying for the US were in failing health, and that prompted a quick deal for negotiations between the countries.

See the video below for news coverage of the story..

Source: CNN

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