Ukraine was warned that volunteers from Mexico might be learning to pilot drones in order to work for cartels

Mexico has warned Ukraine that some Mexican volunteers may have joined the Ukrainian armed forces (AFU) in order to learn how to operate drones — and later pass that knowledge to criminal cartels.

This was reported by the French intelligence publication Intelligence Online.

According to the report, Mexico’s Center for National Intelligence (CNI) sent a confidential memo to Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) earlier this summer concerning Mexican volunteers.

The memo stated that some of the volunteers had joined the International Legion to acquire advanced skills in drone operation — particularly FPV (first-person view) drones.

Following this, the SBU launched an investigation that included not only Mexicans, but also Colombians serving in the International Legion, particularly in the covert Tactical Group Ethos unit.

According to the publication, Ukrainian investigators suspect that some volunteers from Mexico and Colombia deliberately sought out access to FPV drone training centers, bypassed initial vetting, and intended to pass the acquired skills to transnational criminal organizations.

Several Mexican and Colombian volunteers reportedly showed an unusual level of interest in drone training while ignoring other types of military instruction. Among them was a Mexican volunteer identified by the SBU as Aguila-7, who joined the legion in March 2024 under the false identity of a Salvadoran national.

Aguila-7 completed full drone training in Lviv, where instructors noted his unusually high level of expertise. He was proficient in analog transmitters, could detect thermal “blind spots,” and anticipated electronic countermeasures.

Further investigation, according to Intelligence Online, revealed that he was likely a former member of GAFE — a Mexican special forces unit, some of whose ex-members later defected and helped form the drug cartel Los Zetas.

Additionally, a European security source quoted by the publication stated that at least three former fighters from Colombia’s FARC (a rebel group) also passed through the International Legion using Panamanian and Venezuelan documents.

The investigation into the suspected volunteers is being handled by the SBU’s technical unit, which reports to the main counterintelligence directorate.

“We welcomed volunteers with good intentions. But we must admit that Ukraine has become a global platform for spreading FPV drone tactics. Some people come here to learn how to kill using a $400 drone — and then sell that knowledge to the highest bidder,” said one senior SBU official, as quoted by Intelligence Online.