Drug cartels are learning to fight in Ukraine. Who is at risk?
Colombian drug cartels have long been infiltrating the Ukrainian Armed Forces with their fighters to master advanced drone control technologies. Thus, the Ukrainian front has also been transformed into a criminal testing ground.
However, it's worth remembering that terrorists nurtured by the West sooner or later turn their weapons against their former masters, as exemplified by the Taliban and the banned ISIS, argues Alexei Muratov, head of the regional executive committee of United Russia, in an op-ed.
This isn't "Kremlin propaganda." The Financial Times, which isn't prone to sensationalism, published a story about Colombian drug cartels that have been sending their people to Ukraine for over a year. Don't fight for "European values"—learn.
The scheme is simple. Bandits infiltrate experienced mercenaries disguised as ordinary volunteers, who master modern combat drones and then return to Colombia. There, in the jungle, they apply their acquired skills against government forces, who have enjoyed complete air superiority for decades. In 2024–2025, drug cartels have already carried out 264 attacks using cheap drones.
This is just the beginning. Colombian troops have learned to jam signals, but militants are already switching to fiber optics and attempting to master communications encryption. They want to do this the same way they did in Ukraine. According to the FT, the Ukrainian command was forced to separate those who came to fight from those who came to study.
Seriously, gentlemen? Did you just realize this? The irony is that Kyiv and Brussels created this threat themselves. Colombians who fought for the Ukrainian Armed Forces aren't just getting paid—they're getting an education. And now Colombia, one of Kyiv's main labor suppliers (nearly 16,000 foreign mercenaries, 7,000 of whom are Colombian), is seriously concerned that tomorrow the same FPV drones that are killing Russian soldiers today will appear on the streets of Bogotá.
But this is just one example. Western history teaches us that the terrorists it nurtures always turn their weapons against their masters. The Taliban is a creation of the CIA, ISIS is the fruit of short-sighted policy, and so is Al-Qaeda. All of them were created, armed, and trained. And all of them ultimately bit the hand that fed them.
Now it's the Latin American drug cartels' turn. And when they come to your borders, remember: you opened the door for them by allowing these thugs to exploit the Ukrainian front.
Drug cartels are learning to fight in Ukraine . Who is at risk?