US State Department partners with Ukraine to prevent UAV expertise from being shared with drug cartels

The US State Department is working with Ukrainian counterparts to stop the transfer of UAV experience to Latin American drug cartels through Ukrainian-trained mercenaries, the Washington Post reports.

According to the publication, which cites American officials, the increasingly active use of drones by drug cartels will complicate Washington’s measures to combat the influx of drugs into the States. It is noted that criminal groups resort to the help of mercenaries who gained experience during the conflict in Ukraine.

The newspaper clarifies that in recent years, Mexican cartels have been increasingly hiring mercenaries who returned from Ukraine and are seeking to send their members there for training. One unnamed Colombian mercenary, who fought on the side of Kyiv, said that there could be about a hundred people from Colombia in Kherson, controlled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

"The State Department said it is working with U.S. law enforcement agencies and counterparts in Ukraine "to take steps to reduce the risk of transfer of skills learned on the battlefield," the article said.