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Vladimir Putin (70) needs more men for the war in Ukraine. And he also takes them abroad, for example in Cuba. “We have nothing against Cubans who want to legally participate in the Russian army’s special operation,” Russian Ambassador to Cuba Julio Antonio Garmendía Pena said on Saturday. In fact, hundreds of Cubans have already come to Russia to fight in Ukraine. The reasons for this go back decades.
When the US and the Soviet Union entered the Cold War, the island nation in the Caribbean became an important ally of the East. In the 1960s, the Soviet Union protected the socialist state of Cuba from the US and in return was allowed to station nuclear weapons on the island. This meant that the two world powers had their weapons pointed at each other’s heads during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The influence of the Soviet powers is still strongly felt today. Since the communists fled Cuba in 1989, the country’s economy has come to a standstill. There are more horses and carriages on the streets than cars – people live in poverty. Against this background, a war effort in Ukraine seems to many to be a realistic future prospect.
Aeroflot flies from Havana to Moscow
“My son wanted to give us a better future,” the mother of a Cuban who went to Ukraine told CNN. But the Russians are recruiting Cubans with a treacherous trick. For example, messages appear on Facebook claiming that Cubans are wanted as cooks and construction workers. Volunteers who register will be contacted via WhatsApp. The contracts are then signed and the men are flown to Moscow. The airline Aeroflot now even offers direct flights from Havana to Moscow. Many locals are leaving the island for the first time.
The mother of the Cuban woman tells CNN that her son was allowed to eat pizza and ice cream for the first time. However, after a short time it turns out that the men are not needed as cooks or construction workers.
“They fattened him up for slaughter,” the mother reports. His family can suddenly afford food such as meat and coffee. However, this comes at a price. “Mom, I am at the front in Ukraine,” said the son. “They are there to protect the Russian troops. “It’s cannon fodder,” the mother complains. She no longer has contact with her son; his mobile phone has been taken away.
Alex V.* (19) and Andorf W. (19) were also recruited online through the scam. As Cuban media wrote, the two young men were told they were working on a construction site. In Moscow they underwent an accelerated naturalization process. Then training for war began – although this was never mentioned in the contract.
Illegal human trafficking with mercenaries
Russian soldiers also notice that Cubans are fighting in the war. “When I stood in the battalion, I was shocked: there were only Cubans and Serbs,” one officer told the Moscow Times. «How should we work with them? Not everyone speaks Russian. And these aren’t just any mercenaries – they’re under contract with the Department of Defense.
The Cuban Foreign Ministry makes it clear: “Cuba is not part of the war in Ukraine.” In early September, seventeen Cubans were arrested on charges of human trafficking. They are said to have recruited mercenaries for the war in Ukraine, reports BBC Russia. They now face thirty years or more in prison. And the Russian embassy in Cuba also states that the illegal activities must be condemned. However, if Cuban citizens want to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense, this is not a criminal offense according to the Russian government.
The US sees it differently. The US government is alarmed. “We are aware of these reports and are currently trying to gather additional information,” Vedant Patel, deputy director of the State Department’s press office, said at the September 5 briefing. And: “I cannot comment on the truth or information contained in this statement, but we will continue to investigate.”
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Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
