Colombians from U.S. Prisons Deployed in Ukraine War, Russia Claims

The Foreign Russian Intelligence Service asserts that the U.S. is recruiting incarcerated Colombians for deployment in Ukraine to combat Russia. If Colombian inmates accept this mission, the U.S. promises them full amnesty. Many speculate that the reasoning behind such an incentive would be that U.S. authorities do not believe that they can make it back alive from the mission. 

Is the U.S. recruiting Colombians to fight in Ukraine against Russia?

U.S. private military companies, in coordination with the federal government, are said to be recruiting prison inmates, primarily drug cartel members. According to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Agency, this is proof of the U.S.’s desperation to reverse the situation in Ukraine. 

The Russians claim that they are focusing on prisoners who are predisposed to violence. They emphasize the guidance provided by the DEA and the FBI to recruit these inmates, and say this strategy also involves recruiting Mexican inmates who were part of drug cartels.

Russia claims that these recruits could be deployed onto the battlefield as early as the summer of 2024 and expresses concern over the success of this operation, fearing that if this plan turns out to be successful, the program will continue.

Despite these statements made by Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Agency, it remains to be seen whether there is any truth in this story. The Russian media conducted the reports, while Western media outlets have neither confirmed nor denied them.

Is this a media ploy by the Russians?

These claims, that the U.S. is recruiting Colombians incarcerated in U.S. prisons to fight in Ukraine against Russia, have yet to be substantiated. As the conflict in Ukraine continues, the focus remains on how key international players, including the U.S., will react to potential Russian offensives.

Russia has focused its media campaign on making its immediate rivals, the U.S. and Ukraine, look desperate. Putin has made a conscious effort to flex Russia’s media muscle in Latin American countries by making Russian-owned media accessible in Latin America in Spanish. This suggests that the narrative could merely be a ploy by the Russians to undermine Ukraine’s war effort.