En route to the trench

From Cuba to Ukraine: how Russia recruits from Havana

On 31 August, Alain Lambert, a Cuban-American influencer better known as Alain Paparazzi Cubano, posted a new video on his YouTube channel of an interview with two young Cuban men, Alex Rolando Vegas Dìaz and Andorra Antonio Velàzquez Garcìa. The story they tell is one of the first accounts of a broader case, which, as investigations by the authorities and several journalistic enquiries show, involves Russia. The two young men in fact left Cuba to reach Russian soil after signing a contract, believing they had accepted a job in the construction field. What they did not know was that they would be sent to Ukraine, on the war front.

Recruited by the Kremlin, even by deception

After the testimony of the two young Cubans, other similar stories began to come to light, making it clear that this was no isolated case. As days went by, journalistic enquiries and an investigation by the Cuban judiciary showed the existence of a real network involved in recruiting Cuban civilians to fight in the war in Ukraine. Many of them would have done so knowingly, but in some cases the recruitment would have been done under false pretences.

Since June, several posts appeared in Cuban Facebook groups looking for work, offering work contracts in Russia. In some of them it was clear that by signing the contract one would be enlisted in the Russian army, while in others reference was made to jobs that were not dangerous, and far from the battle lines. This was the case with the two 19-year-olds.

In the interview, the two claimed to have arrived in Russia in July, and both had signed a contract in Russian thinking of taking a job in the construction field, again for the Russian army. However, they did not believe that they would take up arms and be sent to the front line against the Ukrainian army.

No place to escape

Once they arrived in Russia, with a trip organised by intermediaries, the contract was signed. In many cases it would appear that the Cubans were only shown a copy in Russian, without it being clear what was written there. Some people summarised the contents in Spanish.

In addition to money, the recruited people were also offered Russian citizenship. In November 2022, in fact, Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing naturalisation, via an accelerated path, to all foreigners who decide to enlist with the Russian army.

After signing, attempting to evade or run away means treason. Even returning to Cuba is no longer an option: fighting as mercenaries for a foreign army is a crime for which one can get a 30-year prison sentence.

Why?

Why accept a job offered by the Russian army? Some seem to have done it for ideological reasons, or so it appears from their activity on social media. On 5 September, a hacker group close to the Ukrainian government, 'Cyber Resistance', started publishing a series of documents via their Telegram channels. They claimed to have managed to hack into the email box of a Russian army officer, Major Anton Valentinovich Perevochikov, and there they identified a number of references to the recruitment of Cuban civilians. Among the various documents would also be hundreds of passports.

Time viewed some of them and managed to identify the social profiles of some of these men, who were posting videos and photos from Russia. One of them, Pedro Soto Hernandez, is seen in a photo wearing a Russian uniform, and the description reads 'por la madre patria'.

But the main motivation may be something else: around $2,000 when signing, and the same amount monthly. It may not seem like much to risk one's life, but it is necessary to take into account that the average monthly salary in Cuba is about $170.

'Cuba is not part of the war in Ukraine'

A few days after the publication of the video, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez issued a statement on his website, saying that the Cuban authorities had identified a network that was recruiting Cuban civilians to fight in the war in Ukraine alongside Russian soldiers. On 8 September, the first arrests came: 17 people, accused of human trafficking.

But could the Cuban government have been unaware of the recruitment? According to Chris Simmons, Cuban espionage expert and counter-intelligence officer of the US Defense Intelligence Agency heard by Time, it is highly unlikely. And even from Ukraine they seem to believe little in this possibility.

The Cuban response has been contradictory: while the foreign minister has been very tough, stating that 'Cuba is not part of the war in Ukraine' and that he is working to dismantle the network, the Cuban ambassador to Russia, on the other hand, has stated that he has nothing against this practice.

Mondo Internazionale APS - Riproduzione Riservata ® 2023

Sources used for the article:

https://time.com/6314093/russia-recruiting-cubans-ukraine-war/

https://theintercept.com/2023/09/06/cuban-mercenaries-russia-ukraine-war/

https://www.politico.eu/article/cuban-mercenaries-join-russian-army-ukraine-war/

https://www.ilpost.it/2023/09/30/russia-reclutamento-cubani-guerra-ucraina-mercenari/

https://meduza.io/en/feature/2023/09/09/trapped-in-the-trenches

https://www.pexels.com/it-it/foto/bandiera-blu-e-bianca-sul-palo-3687918/