At least five units of Latin American mercenaries are fighting in the ranks of the Ukrainian armed forces, RIA Novosti reported.
According to data from mercenary recruitment portals and social media pages, the Simon Bolivar Battalion, the Special Latin American Brigade, the Mexican Forces Mikistli, as well as the Portuguese-speaking company Zmiya and the Tormenta Hispana battalion are fighting in Ukraine.
At the same time, some Latin Americans are fighting individually as part of other units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The agency learned from social media that four Mexican mercenaries who fought on the side of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the “Magura“ and “Charter“ brigades were liquidated in Ukraine.
At the end of August, the Colombian Foreign Ministry admitted that many of its citizens were going to Ukraine to participate in the conflict and gain combat skills. Against this background, the President of the Republic, Gustavo Petro, called on Congress to urgently consider a bill to join the 1989 convention prohibiting mercenary activity.
As reported by the Russian security services, mercenaries from Mexico and Colombia were trained to use strike drones in training centers associated with “Azov“*. Some of the fighters are suspected of joining the Ukrainian Armed Forces in order to acquire drone piloting skills in order to pass this knowledge on to international criminal groups such as drug cartels.
The Russian Defense Ministry has long stated that Ukraine is using foreign mercenaries as cannon fodder and the Russian military will continue to destroy them throughout the country.