“Es Colombia, es Ucrania, y es…”: The Global Export of Colombian Mercenaries
“How Colombian Mercenaries Spread Around the Globe”
Henry Suckow Ziemer examines how Colombia has become a leading exporter of military labor in a piece for the World of Crime Newsletter. Thousands of former soldiers now operate across conflict zones, from Ukraine to North Africa to Mexico. Some serve with state militaries. Others work for private security firms. A smaller number have reportedly linked up with criminal groups such as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. What unites them is a shared background forged in decades of counterinsurgency at home and refined through repeated overseas deployments.
The Mercenary Pipeline
The article traces this phenomenon to structural supply and demand. Colombia retires roughly 10,000 service members annually, many in their early forties with limited pensions and few civilian prospects. Networks built during Plan Colombia and early recruitment drives by firms such as Blackwater normalized overseas contracting. Later initiatives tied to the United Arab Emirates deepened the market, embedding Colombians in campaigns in Yemen and Sudan. Word of mouth now sustains a durable, self-reinforcing recruitment ecosystem.
Battlefield Skills, Criminal Demand
Ukraine’s war has expanded Colombian résumés into high-intensity conventional combat, including drone operations and trench warfare. These skills travel. Mexican cartels seeking tactical innovation have recruited veterans of Ukraine, accelerating the diffusion of armed drone tactics in the Western Hemisphere. Techniques honed abroad risk filtering back into Colombia’s own conflicts, where groups such as the National Liberation Army and FARC dissidents are already adapting unmanned systems.
The Result
The Americas may be entering a contractor-heavy security era. Governments and corporations will continue to tap private force to manage risk. Criminal actors will do the same. The result is a more fluid and less regulated marketplace for violence, with Colombian veterans at its center.
