Venezuela Extradited Colombians Who Fought On Ukrainian Side To Russia
4- 31.08.2024, 10:20
- 7,494
![Venezuela Extradited Colombians Who Fought On Ukrainian Side To Russia](https://i.c97.org/ai/608896/aux-head-1725086012-Untitled-20.jpg)
They face up to 15 years in prison.
Two Colombians, Jose Aron and Alexander Ante, who fought on the Ukrainian side, were detained in the Venezuelan capital Caracas, and the men were then extradited to Russia. This was reported by the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo.
Aron's sister, Astrid Medina, told El Tiempo that she lost contact with her brother on July 18, after the man told her about his travels from Warsaw to Madrid. Aron was planning to go home to Colombia with a stop in Caracas.
“He confirmed this when he told my mother that he had just arrived in Venezuela, that he was about to get off the plane, that he would call sometime and come home at 1 pm, but nothing else happened,” Medina said.
She also reported that on July 24, she contacted a friend of her brother's who is a police officer and lives in Venezuela. He said that the Colombians attracted attention because they were wearing Ukrainian army uniforms.
“The government (of Venezuela — edit.) is going to try to plant thousands of things to look good in front of the Russians, because the Russians are allies of the Venezuelan government,” the police officer's friend told the Colombian's sister.
Aron's sister explained that last year, her brother received a letter from Ukraine with an offer to join the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Since he had previously served in the Colombian national army, Jose agreed and went to fight on the side of Ukraine. However, he later decided to return.
On August 30, the Russian propaganda outlet TASS published a video showing the Colombians being led down the corridor of the Lefortovo pretrial detention center.
The Russian FSB reported that a criminal case for mercenarism has been opened against the Colombian citizens.
They face up to 15 years in prison on this charge.
The FSB did not explain where and when the Colombians were detained.