Colombian drug cartels and rebel groups are allegedly sending fighters to Ukraine to learn advanced drone warfare techniques before deploying them back home, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
Citing interviews with Colombian volunteers, aid workers and Ukrainian officials, the newspaper said some Colombians who fought alongside Ukrainian forces had links to organized crime, while illegal armed groups have increasingly sought battlefield expertise developed during the war with Russia.
Taras Palianytsia, of Ukraine's Foreign Recruiting Centre, told the daily that the individuals with links to organized crime were identified and "sent home."
“The recruitment schemes are very complex, but what worries me most is the level of specialization they’re acquiring,” said a Colombian aid worker in Ukraine. “Former paramilitaries, former guerrillas and former soldiers are fighting and learning together here how to operate drones.”
The report said drones have transformed Colombia's decades-long conflict much as they have reshaped the battlefield in Ukraine, allowing armed groups to challenge the military's traditional control of the air.
Drone strikes by Colombian armed groups increased from none in 2023 to 333 in 2025, according to Colombia's Defense Ministry.
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Colombian drug cartels are sending operatives to the Ukrainian Armed Forces to learn how to use UAVs — FT
ReplyDelete▪️ Colombian drug cartels are seeking to send their representatives to Ukraine to gain experience in the use of drones in combat conditions.
▪️ The cartels intend to use this knowledge to counter Colombian security forces.
▪️ Last year, Colombia's armed forces neutralized approximately 96% of drone-based attack attempts—primarily by jamming radio signals or destroying the aircraft themselves. Criminal groups, meanwhile, aim to gain an edge over the security forces.
Colombian drug cartels are sending representatives to fight in Ukraine and recruiting veterans to gain experience in drone warfare for their own conflict with the government, the Financial Times reports.
DeleteDrones have already upended the rules of the internal conflict in Colombia, stripping the government of its customary air superiority.