Aug 12, 2025
MONTEVIDEO (Sputnik) – The number of Colombian citizens who participated in international conflicts as employees of security companies exceeds 15,000, Colombian Congress member Alirio Uribe Munoz told Sputnik.
In early August, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said he had asked the country’s parliament to urgently consider a draft law banning mercenary activities.
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“We have more than 15,000 people who participated in international conflicts, hired by security companies that supply soldiers for international armed conflicts,” Uribe Munoz said.
He noted that since Colombia has lived through a 60-year conflict and many of its military personnel have been trained at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation or by the Israelis, third countries are recruiting Colombians to participate in the fighting.
In this regard, Colombia needs legislation prohibiting mercenarism “to control this type of business,” Uribe Munoz added.
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In July, Russian Ambassador in Bogota Nikolai Tavdumadze told Sputnik that the number of Colombians fighting alongside Ukrainian armed forces remained high. He also said that the Colombian parliament was looking into a bill that would have Colombia join the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries.
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The Russian Defense Ministry has repeatedly warned that Kiev has been using foreign fighters as “cannon fodder” and that the Russian military will continue to strike mercenary troops across Ukraine. Colombians have been complaining about poor coordination in the Ukrainian armed forces, which makes survival in the high-intensity conflict in Ukraine much harder than in Afghanistan or the Middle East.
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