
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
On today’s episode, Katarina breaks down how Latin American criminal groups have exploited Ukraine’s warzone to gain advanced FPV drone training. In 2025, Mexico’s National Intelligence Center warned Ukraine’s security services that individuals from Mexico and Colombia were joining the International Legion under false identities—not to fight, but to train.
A joint investigation revealed that some Spanish-speaking recruits, including ex-GAFE and former FARC members, focused solely on drone warfare. One operative, “Águila-7,” impressed instructors with his technical skills before disappearing, later linked to Mexican cartel networks.
Through PMC-style logistics and forged documents, these operatives gained access to elite training centers. Ukrainian officials now acknowledge the risk of drone tactics spreading to organized crime and have launched countermeasures with international partners. The episode explores how a battlefield became a training ground for a new kind of warfare.
Borderland is an IRONCLAD Original
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
4.9
5858 ratings
On today’s episode, Katarina breaks down how Latin American criminal groups have exploited Ukraine’s warzone to gain advanced FPV drone training. In 2025, Mexico’s National Intelligence Center warned Ukraine’s security services that individuals from Mexico and Colombia were joining the International Legion under false identities—not to fight, but to train.
A joint investigation revealed that some Spanish-speaking recruits, including ex-GAFE and former FARC members, focused solely on drone warfare. One operative, “Águila-7,” impressed instructors with his technical skills before disappearing, later linked to Mexican cartel networks.
Through PMC-style logistics and forged documents, these operatives gained access to elite training centers. Ukrainian officials now acknowledge the risk of drone tactics spreading to organized crime and have launched countermeasures with international partners. The episode explores how a battlefield became a training ground for a new kind of warfare.
Borderland is an IRONCLAD Original
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
227,793 Listeners
30,825 Listeners
10,914 Listeners
6,442 Listeners
43,530 Listeners
2,416 Listeners
254 Listeners
4,362 Listeners
773 Listeners
111 Listeners
2,896 Listeners
9 Listeners
1,229 Listeners
600 Listeners
644 Listeners
194 Listeners
16,786 Listeners
114 Listeners
56 Listeners
20 Listeners
81 Listeners
25 Listeners