Two former Colombian soldiers who went to fight in Ukraine will be tried in Moscow in October. Detained in the Lefortovo centre and accused of mercenarism, Alexander Ante, 47, and José Medina, 36, face a sentence of fifteen years in prison.
The two men disappeared on July 18 during a stopover in Caracas, as they were returning to their country after spending eight and ten months respectively at the front, in the ranks of the 49th.my The Karpatska Sitch infantry battalion. They reappeared in late August, handcuffed, in a video from the Russian Federal Security Service. Russian authorities told the Colombian embassy in Moscow that the two former soldiers had been arrested on August 26 and brought before a judge on the 29th. Suspected of having participated in this operation, the Venezuelan authorities remained silent.
No typical profile
The case serves as a reminder that hundreds of Colombians are fighting, legally or illegally, outside their country. In 2021, the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse by Colombian mercenaries highlighted the phenomenon. The Andean country has experienced a very long armed conflict. “Their soldiers and police, who have real experience in the field, are in high demand by private security companies and states at war.” recalls researcher Andrés Macías, from the Externado University.
“Colombians are one of the largest foreign contingents, but they are not the most important” “This is the nuance of Oleksandr Shaguri, spokesman for the International Legion for the Defence of Ukraine, which unites the majority of foreign fighters. Commenting on the military quality of the Colombians, Shaguri insists that there is no typical profile: “ Each individual comes to us with a different background. Some are very good, some not so good, and others come without the slightest military training. he explains.
Alexander Ante, who spent more than ten years in the Colombian army after completing his military service, had been unemployed for months when, in October 2023, he left for Ukraine. “He let himself be tempted by the sirens of social media” says his sister Carolina. José Medina, who fled shortly after his compatriot, worked as a guard. He had bank loans to pay. The Ukrainian army pays the equivalent of between 1,500 and 3,000 euros a month to foreign fighters, on equal terms with Ukrainians. In Colombia, a soldier earns between 270 and 540 euros.
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