Cuba arrests 17 for trafficking men to fight for Russia in Ukraine

 

17 persons have been detained by Cuban police on suspicion of participating in a human trafficking operation that recruited young Cuban males to fight with the Russian military in Ukraine.

The network, which operated in Cuba and Russia to enable Cubans to join the conflict against Ukraine, is being dismantled, the Cuban Foreign Ministry stated earlier this week.

According to Cesar Rodriguez, a colonel with the Cuban Interior Ministry, "as a result of the investigations, 17 people have so far been arrested, among them the internal organiser of these activities," late on Thursday on a TV programme.

Rodriguez claimed the group's head depended on two persons living on the island to recruit Cubans to fight, but he did not name any of those suspected of being a member of the ring.

Depending on the severity and type of crimes, which can include human trafficking, engaging in combat as mercenaries, and hostile action against a foreign state, Cuban prosecutor Jose Luis Reyes said those involved in the scandal could receive a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, a life sentence, or the death penalty.

Cubans trying to leave their country's economic doldrums have traditionally looked to Russia, which has close political links to communist-run Cuba.

Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, enacted a law last year that expedites the citizenship process for foreigners enlisting in the Russian army.

Several Cubans were reportedly deployed to fight in Ukraine under contracts they had signed with the Russian military in May, according to Russian media.

Russia had previously enlisted the aid of private armed forces, such as the Wagner Group mercenaries, which had recruited soldiers straight from Russian jails, to assist in battling a Ukrainian counteroffensive that was suffering from growing fatalities and making little progress on the battlefield in months.

Additionally, Wagner enlisted Syrians to fight in Ukraine with Russian forces.

A prison recruit from Iraq who was fighting for Wagner in Ukraine was reportedly slain in June.