THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Ukrainian counterintelligence services are investigating the infiltration of Latin American drug cartel members into the country’s International Legion, with operatives seeking advanced drone training to later deploy against rivals and security forces in their home countries.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) launched a joint investigation with military intelligence after Mexico’s National Intelligence Center warned in early summer that Mexican volunteers had joined Ukraine’s foreign fighter units specifically to acquire first-person view (FPV) drone capabilities. The probe has since expanded to include Colombian nationals, raising concerns about Ukraine’s inadvertent role as a training ground for transnational criminal organizations.
French outlet Intelligence Online was the first to report the story on Tuesday.
The investigation centers on several Spanish-speaking units within the International Legion, particularly the tactical group “Ethos,” operating in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions. Ukrainian investigators reportedly suspect that some Mexican and Colombian volunteers intentionally sought placement in drone operator units to later use this training in the service of foreign criminal organizations.
One noteworthy case is that of a Mexican national operating under the alias “Águila-7,” who registered in March 2024 using fraudulent Salvadoran documentation. Posing as a humanitarian volunteer, he completed comprehensive drone training in Lviv while demonstrating exceptional technical expertise that eventually had instructors suspicious.
His extensive technical knowledge, including familiarity with electronic warfare countermeasures and thermal detection avoidance, reportedly stood out. Background investigations later revealed probable connections to Mexico’s elite GAFE special forces, some of whose former personnel have historically transitioned to cartel employment, notably through the ultra-violent Zetas organization.
The infiltration demonstrates remarkable operational sophistication for a nonstate group, with suspects employing false identities, forged documentation and front companies to facilitate their passage into Ukrainian territory and military structures. Intelligence analysts have identified a network of private security firms across Latin America that appear to have coordinated these placements.
Additional cases have emerged involving former FARC guerrillas who infiltrated the system using Panamanian and Venezuelan identity documents. At least three former FARC fighters passed through the International Legion using forged documents, with their relocation reportedly organized by cartel-linked entities.
The revelations highlight Ukraine’s unintended emergence as a premier training ground for modern asymmetric warfare techniques amid its conflict with Russia. Ukrainian authorities have developed comprehensive curricula covering drone manufacturing, tactical deployment, electronic warfare resistance and real-time battlefield coordination. Coincidentally, these capabilities also represent exactly the type of force multiplication that criminal organizations seek.
Mexican cartels are already conducting drone attacks against rivals and security forces domestically, making the acquisition of Ukrainian battlefield-tested tactics particularly concerning for regional security.
An unnamed SBU official told Intelligence Online: “We welcomed volunteers in good faith. But we must now recognize that Ukraine has become a platform for the global dissemination of FPV tactics. Some come here to learn how to kill with a $400 drone, then sell this knowledge elsewhere to the highest bidder.”
Linus Höller is Defense News' Europe correspondent and OSINT investigator. He reports on the arms deals, sanctions, and geopolitics shaping Europe and the world. He holds a master’s degrees in WMD nonproliferation, terrorism studies, and international relations, and works in four languages: English, German, Russian, and Spanish.