Drug cartel operatives from Mexico and Colombia are suspected of infiltrating Ukraine’s International Legion to acquire tactical knowledge of first-person view (FPV) attack drones, according to an investigation by Ukrainian and Mexican intelligence services. The findings were first reported by Intelligence Online, a French investigative outlet, and confirmed by ongoing SBU-led operations.
The probe, jointly led by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and Military Intelligence Directorate (HUR), follows a formal warning from Mexico’s National Intelligence Center (CNI) in early summer 2024. The warning flagged individuals linked to Mexican drug cartels who had joined Ukraine’s foreign volunteer units under false pretenses. Their primary motive, investigators say, was to gain hands-on experience with battlefield drone warfare for use in criminal conflicts back home.
Since 2022, Ukraine’s drone warfare program has become a model of innovation. FPV drones, often costing less than $400, are equipped with explosive payloads and guided via live video feeds into armored targets, trenches, or buildings. These drones are built and flown by units trained in Lviv, Dnipro, and near the Donbas front.
While originally developed for Ukrainian troops, this training has gradually expanded to include vetted foreign volunteers. The open-door policy was initially intended to reinforce manpower.
According to the SBU, several cartel-linked volunteers entered the country using falsified documents and were introduced through private military companies (PMCs) operating out of Latin America. These firms, now under investigation across Europe, reportedly bypassed standard Ukrainian vetting procedures.
One such case involves a man known by the call sign “Águila-7,” who completed full drone training in Lviv before deploying to Kharkiv with a logistics unit. Subsequent investigation revealed he was a Mexican national with prior service in the elite GAFE special forces unit. Several ex-GAFE members are known to have joined the Zetas, one of Mexico’s most violent cartels.
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Mexican cartels are increasingly using drones in conflicts with rivals. pic.twitter.com/GWeXAqfea9— S p r i n t e r (@SprinterObserve) March 12, 2025
Another case concerns three former guerrillas from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), who entered Ukraine using fraudulent Panamanian and Venezuelan IDs. One was identified at a Dnipro drone training center after SBU agents noted his accent and gang tattoos.
#Colombia 🇨🇴: “Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia” (#FARC) carried out Drone attacks against “National Liberation Army” (#ELN) in #Catatumbo.
FARC seemingly used a possible COTS DJI Drone armed with multiple air-dropped Improvised ~81mm HE (High-Explosive) Mortar bombs. pic.twitter.com/n7GbI8z7bW
— War Noir (@war_noir) April 14, 2025
Ukrainian drone academies teach volunteers to build, fly, and repair FPV drones and integrate tactics such as electronic warfare, counter-jamming, and thermal avoidance. These institutions have produced thousands of drone operators since the full-scale war began in February 2022.
Military simulator for training Ukrainian FPV drone operators. In this case, a training mission to search and destroy the Russian UAV “Orlan”. https://t.co/WaBJekKzn6 pic.twitter.com/GYQEEewcg7
— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) January 18, 2025
According to Intelligence Online, the tactical group “Ethos,” a HUR-linked semi-clandestine unit operating in Donetsk and Kharkiv, is among those scrutinized. Multiple Spanish-speaking recruits from Central and South America—assigned to the group’s second squadron—are being reviewed for possible cartel affiliations.
“Some come here to learn how to kill with a $400 drone, then sell this knowledge elsewhere to the highest bidder,” an unnamed SBU official told Intelligence Online.
Ukraine has since moved to close loopholes. The SBU has formed a specialist unit tasked with preventing the unauthorized export of military know-how, especially in drone warfare. The unit now works in coordination with Interpol, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and European agencies. Additional background checks are underway on volunteers, with a focus on Spanish-speaking recruits and those arriving via PMC intermediaries.
