Drug Cartels Infiltrate Ukrainian Foreign Legion For Drone Warfare Training

A Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) investigation has revealed that drug traffickers in Central and South America are infiltrating Ukrainian Foreign Legion units to gain experience operating first-person view drones, with this experience expected to be invaluable for use against rival gangs or security forces after the war. Mexico’s National Intelligence Center (CNI) has similarly warned that drug traffickers may be posing as volunteers to infiltrate Ukrainian Foreign Legion units for such purposes. Such infiltration operations by drug cartels is far from unprecedented, and mirrors similar reported operations by cartels to have personnel in the United States enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces to gain experience, which is then passed on to cartel members. Former personnel from the armed forces of the United States, Colombia and Mexico among other countries have also been actively recruited by cartels.

The Ukrainian National Security Service reports cited the case of a Mexican national using the alias ‘Aguila-7,’ who, in March 2024 enlisted in the Ukrainian Foreign Legion and demonstrated exceptional skills. A subsequent investigation revealed that he had previously served in Mexico’s elite GAFE electronic warfare unit, and had subsequently joined a drug trafficking organization. A growing number of reports from both Western and Russian sources have indicated that Latin American contractor and volunteer personnel are playing an increasingly significant role on the frontlines n the Ukrainian theatre, with Brazilian and Colombian personnel deployed in particularly significant numbers. Contractors from the two countries were reported in mid-July to have bolstered the Ukrainian Army’s 47th Separate Mechanised Brigade for fighting in the Sumy region, with contractors from Colombia reported earlier that month to be playing an important role in that area.