How Colombia became a top exporter of mercenaries
| Bogot谩, Colombia
As a sergeant in Colombia鈥檚 army, Michael Ram铆rez fought in repeated battles against the nation鈥檚 rebel groups. He learned how to fabricate explosives, and was trained as a counterinsurgency specialist in a course that involved 40-mile marches and surviving in the jungle without food.
Mr. Ram铆rez retired from service in 2015. But he missed military life, so, eight years later, he got on a plane to Europe to join the Ukrainian army.
鈥淗e always spoke about how he regretted retiring in his 30s, and wanted to return to that world he knew so well,鈥� says his wife Patricia Mendiga帽o in Bogot谩.聽
Why We Wrote This
Every year Colombia retires thousands of battle-hardened veterans from its armed forces. Many end up enlisting in foreign conflicts 鈥� including the front lines of Ukraine.
Over the past decade, Colombia has become a notorious supplier of mercenaries, with a March report published by a United Nations working group estimating that at least 10,000 Colombians have been recruited by foreign armies and security contractors around the world. In recent years, hundreds have wound up in Ukraine.
The pull toward the war in Europe varies: Some, like Mr. Ram铆rez, have struggled to adapt to a 鈥渟edentary鈥� life after the armed forces, while others complain about low pensions and few civilian job opportunities. NATO allies are often happy to bolster their forces with fighters from Colombia, where decades of internal conflicts involving guerrilla groups and drug traffickers have given many soldiers direct combat skills. Many veterans have received thorough training, sometimes from U.S. military advisers.
Compared with the deceptive practices Russia employs in countries like Kenya and Nepal, Ukraine鈥檚 recruitment of Colombian fighters appears to be largely aboveboard. But the risks Colombians face on the front line are the same 鈥� as is the difficult search for closure for families of soldiers killed thousands of miles away from home, in wars that have little to do with them.
Colombia鈥檚 appeal
A U.N. convention against the use of mercenaries, created in 1989, says that hiring 鈥渟oldiers of fortune鈥� is illegal. It calls on signatories 鈥� of which there are fewer than 40 鈥� to prosecute mercenaries in their territory.
Yet the convention allows nations to integrate foreigners into their armies as long as they are treated the same as local fighters, with similar pay and obligations. This is what鈥檚 happening in Ukraine, and in other countries that have established foreign legions.
Elizabeth Dickinson, a Colombia expert with the International Crisis Group, says the United Arab Emirates has been recruiting Colombian veterans since the early 2010s, when the Gulf nation was looking to bulk up its military with more midlevel officers. They narrowed in on Colombia, as many countries have since, because its officers were comfortable with the weapons and tactics used by NATO partners and other United States allies.
Ms. Dickinson says that, in recent years, a small industry of recruiters has developed within Colombia. Often retired officers themselves, the recruiters connect Colombian veterans with armies and security companies around the world.
鈥淵ou have very official, above the table, and transparent recruitment,鈥� Ms. Dickinson says. 鈥淏ut you also have an increasing number of Colombians who are recruited by deceptive middlemen, and are not told what they are getting themselves into.鈥�
Backdoor recruits have fought for irregular forces in Sudan and Mexico. And in 2021, a group of 26 Colombians was contracted by a company in Florida to take out, for the co-owners鈥� financial benefit, Haiti鈥檚 President Jovenel Mo茂se. Some have wound up in Russia, too, though it is far less frequent for Colombians to join the Russian army.
Carlos Ram铆rez, a lawyer with a Colombian nonprofit called The Voices of Those Who Aren鈥檛 Here (Corporaci贸n la Voz de los Que no Estan), says that, over the past two years, his organization has assisted 26 families with relatives who have joined the Russian army, and are now missing or killed in action. During the same time period, his organization has helped more than 300 families whose relatives have gone to Ukraine and experienced a similar fate.聽
鈥淩ussia provides very few details about its fighters,鈥� says Mr. Ram铆rez.
For any group or nation looking for a skilled fighter, Colombia offers a large supply of highly trained and relatively young veterans 鈥� for a price.
Early retirement and low pensions
Under Colombian law, most soldiers and noncommissioned officers must retire by the age of 45. But many are let go by their commanders before that, when they have completed 20 years of service and are eligible for a pension. It鈥檚 a way to keep forces young and physically fit in a country where troops are exposed to repeated combat. Others choose to retire young due to a lack of promotions or low pay.聽
This means that those who began their military careers right out of high school can receive retirement orders in their late 30s.
鈥淎t that age, many people still have to support their children, or help their families,鈥� says Raul Musse Pencue, president of ACOSIPAR, an association representing Colombia鈥檚 retired soldiers.
Veterans get a pension that is equivalent to 70% of what they last earned, Mr. Musse says, which typically comes to around $700 dollars a month. Civilian employment 鈥渙pportunities are limited for someone who has been a soldier鈥� their entire career, he says.
Those serving on the front lines in Ukraine, on the other hand, are offered around $4,000 a month.
Ms. Mendiga帽o鈥檚 husband was doing OK financially in Colombia running a small business that sold car batteries, but with the wages from fighting abroad he could start to pay off a home loan. For five months he contemplated the move 鈥� talking to other veterans in Colombia, watching social media accounts of compatriots fighting in Ukraine, discussing the risks with his family 鈥� before ultimately buying a plane ticket to Europe.
Once there, he participated in multiple raids on Russian positions in northern Ukraine, which he recorded with a body camera. In September 2024, he got trapped during an operation near the village of Hlyboke, and sought shelter in an abandoned truck.聽
The Ukrainian army 鈥渦sed a drone for three days to send him food,鈥� his wife recalls. 鈥淭hey monitored him with heat cameras for a week, but then they lost track of him.鈥澛�
Mr. Ram铆rez was reported missing, and his wife fears he could be dead 鈥� or taken prisoner by the Russian military.
A surge in inexperienced recruits
Increasingly, Colombians with next to no military experience are enlisting in wars abroad, too. Edgar Eduardo L贸pez enlisted in the Ukrainian army in September 2024.
Although Mr. L贸pez had completed a year of compulsory military service when he was 19, he hadn鈥檛 picked up a gun in two decades. He鈥檇 spent the past several years working as a truck driver, earning slightly above Colombia鈥檚 minimum wage of $500 a month.
鈥淗e told me he wanted to buy me a nice house,鈥� says his mother, Lucia S谩enz, who lives in a hillside slum on the outskirts of Bogot谩.
His lack of recent experience didn鈥檛 stop the Ukrainian army from hiring him. While military experience increases the chances of acceptance, according to the Ukrainian international legion鈥檚 website, any 18-to-60-year-old in good health and without a criminal record is eligible.
Mr. L贸pez was killed in a battle with Russian forces in November 2024, just two months after enlisting. Ms. S谩enz visited Ukraine last year to try to recover her son鈥檚 remains, but was told his body was in an area now under Russian control and couldn鈥檛 be reached.
All she wants now is to 鈥済ive him a proper funeral,鈥� Ms. S谩enz says. 鈥淗e was my son and I raised him on my own.鈥�
Colombia鈥檚 government said it wants to crack down on middlemen trying to recruit mercenaries for foreign conflicts. President Gustavo Petro recently signed a law that confirms Colombia鈥檚 accession into the U.N. convention against mercenaries.
But Colombian regulations need to go further, says Mario Urue帽a, a professor at Bogot谩鈥檚 Rosario University who researches Colombia鈥檚 mercenary industry. He鈥檇 like to see legally binding penalties for recruiters hiring fighters here, as well as training and mental health programs to help veterans transition into civilian life.聽
鈥淚n Colombia we applaud our soldiers, and we call them heroes,鈥� says Dr. Urue帽a. But, he adds, that appreciation needs to extend beyond retirement.聽
