Mexican volunteers train with Ukrainian military to operate drones for drug cartels

At the start of the summer, Mexico’s National Intelligence Center informed Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) that some Latin American volunteers had joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine not out of solidarity, but to learn how to operate drones for the benefit of drug cartels.

According to Mexican intelligence, certain foreigners enlisted in the International Legion under Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate (HUR) specifically to receive training in the use of combat UAVs, particularly FPV drones.

This prompted a joint investigation by the SBU and HUR, which extended beyond Mexican nationals to include Colombians, most notably, fighters from the specialized Tactical Group Ethos unit.

The investigation revealed that some of these individuals may have intentionally bypassed vetting procedures to gain access to drone training, later passing on this knowledge to transnational criminal organizations.

Undercover Mexican agent

One individual of particular interest was a volunteer with the call sign Aguila-7. In March 2024, he joined the International Legion, claiming to be a Salvadoran citizen, and completed full training in Lviv.

According to instructors, the fighter demonstrated exceptional technical expertise, accurately identifying thermal camera blind spots and knowing how to evade electronic warfare systems.

Investigators later discovered that Aguila-7 was likely connected to Mexico’s elite special forces unit GAFE, some former members of which had previously joined the notorious Los Zetas cartel.

The investigation also uncovered that at least three former members of Colombia’s FARC guerrilla group had passed through the International Legion using forged Panamanian or Venezuelan documents. Their relocation was reportedly organized by cartel-linked entities.

One senior SBU official told Intelligence Online that although Ukraine had welcomed foreign volunteers in good faith, the country had inadvertently become a global platform for the dissemination of FPV drone warfare tactics.

He added that some foreigners come to Ukraine solely to learn how to destroy targets using relatively cheap drones, only to later sell these skills to the highest bidder.