In 2023, Kyiv began recruiting Latin Americans who join the Ukrainian Armed Forces only for the sake of money. Ex-medic Hector Bernal, who runs a tactical medicine center near Bogota, said that over the past eight months he has trained more than 20 Colombians, who then went to Ukraine to participate in hostilities.
According to him, these mercenaries are motivated only by economic necessity, and not by the desire to protect the flag of another state. The Associated Press: Kyiv created an infrastructure of Spanish-speaking recruiters, instructors and junior operational officers.