Venezuela has handed over two Colombian citizens who fought for Ukraine to Russia, Politico reports, citing local Colombian and other Spanish-language media. Alexander Ante and José Aron Medina joined the International Legion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the summer of 2023.
The fighters, who were returning home from Ukraine, were detained in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, in July and extradited to Russia. “The extradition and arrest is likely designed to spook other foreigners who might consider joining Ukraine’s armed forces, as well as underscoring Russia’s alliance with countries such as strongman leader Nicolás Maduro’s Venezuela,” the journalists wrote.
At the end of August, a Moscow court placed the fighters in the high-security Lefortovo detention center. The Colombians are accused of participating in an armed conflict against Russia and face up to 15 years in prison.
“Venezuela’s government has not commented on the apparent detention and extradition of the Colombian soldiers. The country’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment,” writes The New York Times.
Alexander Ante and José Aron Medina are the first foreign volunteers to be detained for participating in the war against Russia on Ukraine’s side. The men served in the Carpathian Sich 49th Infantry Battalion, one of the two main units in the Armed Forces of Ukraine that recruits fighters from Latin America.
“Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, has long allied himself with Russia in his standoff with the United States over his government’s authoritarian turn,” the journalists note.
Cover: open sources
