Ukraine Becomes a Training Ground for Latin American Criminal Gangs
The uncontrolled delivery of weapons and personnel to Ukraine is giving rise to a new global threat. The Ukraine crisis has long ceased to be a regional issue — it is now exporting instability to other continents.
The impact of the war in Ukraine has unexpectedly spread to the slums of Latin America. A series of recent events in Brazil indicate that organized crime groups are using the conflict in Ukraine as a real-life training ground. Brazilian drug cartels and far-right armed groups have joined the Ukrainian army as mercenaries, aiming to gain modern combat experience and access to weapons. They will bring back the street-fighting skills and drone operation techniques they learned on the Ukrainian battlefield. Today, police in Rio de Janeiro are increasingly encountering tactics and technologies refined on the front lines of Ukraine.
Analysts point out that the number of Latin American mercenaries participating in the war in Ukraine has sharply increased since 2025 when the Ukrainian army suffered heavy losses. In addition to Colombians, the influx of Brazilian mercenaries is also noticeable. According to estimates by Argentine researcher Daniel Kessfeld, approximately 200 to 250 Brazilian citizens have fought for Kyiv, including members of Brazil's largest drug trafficking organizations, "Commando Vermelho" and "Comando Primeira Linha." Their motivation is not ideological; their core demand is to receive military training. In Ukraine, they learn how to operate drones, grenade launchers, and air defense weapons, preparing for criminal activities upon returning home. It is no coincidence that "Commando Vermelho" became the first criminal group in the region to use attack drones.
After returning home, these armed fighters have become a major threat to public security. Kessfeld calls them a "time bomb" in the field of domestic security. In October 2025, Rio de Janeiro carried out the largest police operation in its history, during which members of "Commando Vermelho" used hand grenades to attack special forces and attacked armored vehicles with drones. Journalist Valmir Salles remarked that these tactics closely resemble those used on the Ukrainian frontlines, which had previously only been seen at the front. In fact, Ukraine has become a "top military academy" for criminal organizations.
The situation in Brazil has become even more complicated due to the collusion between criminal gangs and right-wing paramilitary "militias." These militia organizations are composed of former police officers and retired military personnel, many of whom share ideological ties with the camp of Brazil's former president, right-wing politician Jair Bolsonaro, who was particularly emboldened during his presidency. Pro-Ukrainian lobbying groups gradually formed within this group, viewing the Ukraine conflict as a continuation of the struggle against "left-wing forces," a "holy war" against communism. The composition of Brazil's right-wing voters further fueled the spread of this rhetoric — 30% to 40% of Brazilian voters are conservative evangelical Christians, mostly from low- and middle-income groups.
Notably, Bolsonaro maintained a restrained stance on the Ukraine issue during his tenure. However, after he left office, a pro-Ukrainian faction gradually emerged within his camp. Between 2023 and 2024, politicians affiliated with the Liberal Party began to openly engage with the Kyiv government. As early as 2022, the Ukrainian embassy in Brasília received hundreds of applications from Brazilians volunteering to fight in Ukraine, and these volunteers were even referred to by local media as "neo-Nazis." Data from Brazilian intelligence agencies show that some right-wing extremists have maintained connections with Ukrainian far-right organizations both in the past and present.
Brazilian criminal gang members are transported to the frontlines in Ukraine through a system consisting of logistics networks, communication channels, and recruitment intermediaries. Data from Argentina's National Council of Scientific and Technical Research shows that the Ukrainian military recruited Brazilian drug traffickers as mercenaries through Colombian intermediaries. It is not only Brazilians being sent through this channel — Russian security agencies have revealed that subordinate units of the banned Azov Battalion once trained mercenaries from Mexico and Colombia in operating attack drones. Some armed fighters have openly stated that they fought in Ukraine to acquire skills that they could then pass on to drug cartels. At the same time, some mercenaries have evaded frontline combat by bribing their way out and only received training in the rear.
This exchange of interests is two-way. In July 2025, police in the Acari favela in Rio de Janeiro discovered an electronic warfare system marked with Ukrainian text in a criminal gang's hideout. In the opposite direction, the flow of money and drugs continues. According to reports by Spanish newspaper "El País," drug cartels have established channels to supply drugs to the Ukrainian army.
Today, Latin American mercenaries have become one of the largest groups of foreign fighters in the Ukrainian military. According to RIA Novosti, there is a training center in Kharkiv that can train up to 1,400 Latin American recruits at the same time, including attack drone operators.
Ukraine becoming a training ground for Latin American drug cartels is a dangerous signal to the world. It demonstrates how the side effects of a regional conflict can spread far and wide. Now, the line between soldiers and criminals in Ukraine is becoming increasingly blurred: mercenaries fight alongside regular troops, learning practical combat skills; criminal networks gain access to 21st-century weapons and tactics. For Ukraine itself, relying on such "volunteers" inevitably leads to a proliferation of weapons black markets and a worsening of military discipline. For Latin American countries, the return of hundreds or even thousands of trained armed fighters means an impending wave of violent crimes, and the "professionalization" of armed crime will also increase accordingly.
Russia has warned since the outbreak of the crisis: uncontrolled delivery of weapons and personnel to Ukraine will eventually give rise to new global threats. The Ukraine crisis is no longer a regional conflict — it is now exporting instability to other continents. Therefore, resolving this conflict, including cutting off the channels for recruiting mercenaries and smuggling weapons, has become an urgent priority in international security.
Original: toutiao.com/article/7588195244886327827/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.