Mystery still shrouds accusations of Russia recruiting Cubans to fight in Ukraine

It's no secret that Cuba and Russia have enjoyed amicable relations for a long time. However, one desperate ploy from Moscow seems to have been enough for the heads in Havana.

Back in September, the Cuban government announced that it had uncovered a human trafficking network seeking to recruit Cuban nationals to work as mercenaries for Russia in Ukraine.

Cuba’s foreign minister, Bruno Rodríguez, told the press that the authorities of the Caribbean island nation was working to “neutralize and dismantle” the network.

According to Reuters, the Havana government claimed at the time that Cuban authorities had arrested 17 people linked to human trafficking between the Caribbean island nation and Russia.

Image: yerigagarin / Unsplash

Moscow and Havana have generally enjoyed good relations, President Miguel Díaz-Canel has criticized NATO and the Western nations for provoking the War in Ukraine.

However, Havana has drawn the line with mercenary recruitment, with the Foreign Ministry stating that “Cuba is not part of the war in Ukraine”.

Cuba expert Chris Simmons told NPR that the idea of someone running such a network on the island was impossible under the strict government surveillance people in Cuba live with.

Simmons argued that, more likely than not, it was possible that people within the Cuban government were helping to recruit Cuban nationals to fight in Ukraine and then denounced the whole network to create a plausible deniability to international eyes.

According to The Guardian, the Cuban government didn’t specify if any Cubans had joined as mercenaries, nor if those involved in the human trafficking network had connections with the Russian government.

However, The Intercept revealed that pro-Ukrainian activist hacker group Cyber Resistance leaked documents revealing the apparent recruitment of over 100 Cuban nationals.

Reuters's in-depth investigation could confirm at least 100 Cubans training in Russia, allegedly signing a one-year contract for a monthly payment of 200,000 rubles (about 2,000 US dollars), plus 15 days of vacation.

The Guardian reported that so far there has been no comment about this incident from the Kremlin.

However, it’s no secret that Russia has employed private military contractors (in other words, mercenaries) such as the Wagner Group in the past.

The Guardian also highlighted that Russian lawmaker and retired military officer Andrey Gurulev claimed that the Defense Ministry was aiming at recruiting another 140,000 Russian soldiers by the end of 2023.

To meet this goal, the Kremlin has been luring migrants from Central Asia with promises of money and quick citizenship in exchange for fighting in Ukraine.

Reuters highlighted that a Russian local news outlets had reported that Cuban nationals had signed contracts to fight in Ukraine in exchange for Russian citizenship. However, it’s not clear if this is connected to the human trafficking network.

Moscow and Havana have historical ties since the late 50s, when the Cuban Revolution overthrew a US-backed dictatorship and established a Communist government headed by Fidel Castro.

Despite the fall of the Soviet Union in the late 80s, Russia and Cuba have remained close. The Caribbean island nation is an important tourist destination for many Russians.

Meanwhile, more than a few Cubans seek to migrate to Russia, looking for opportunities to escape the island’s poverty.