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Colombian groups allegedly received drone training in Ukraine
Drug cartels and armed groups in Colombia allegedly sent their fighters to Ukraine to learn advanced drone operations. Some Colombians identified as linked to criminal organizations in Ukraine were sent back to their country.
Drone attacks by armed groups in Colombia rose from zero in 2023 to 333 in 2025. The increase has heightened concerns that expertise in drone use acquired during the war in Ukraine has been brought back to the country.
According to data from Colombia’s Ministry of Defense, the number of attacks rose to 333 within two years. Outgoing Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said the drone sector was growing rapidly and that criminals were adapting the technology for attacks. Sánchez said the development posed a major challenge to air superiority on the battlefield.
Ukraine war experience comes under scrutiny
Drug cartels and armed groups in Colombia allegedly sent their fighters to Ukraine to learn advanced drone warfare techniques for use when they returned home.
Information based on interviews with volunteers, aid workers and officials in Ukraine indicated that some Colombians fighting alongside Ukrainian forces had been identified as having links to organized crime. Taras Palianytsia of Ukraine’s Foreign Military Recruitment Center said the individuals had been identified and sent back to their country.
A Colombian aid worker in Ukraine said former paramilitaries, former guerrillas and former soldiers were fighting together on the battlefield and learning to use drones. The aid worker said the level of expertise acquired by the armed groups was concerning.
Palianytsia said the methods used by people linked to criminal organizations to enter Ukraine were highly complex. It was alleged that these individuals gained experience in advanced drone use amid the war in Ukraine.
Drone technology transformed Colombia’s conflict
Drone technology has given Colombia’s decades-long conflict an appearance similar to the battlefield in Ukraine. Armed groups have been able to use the technology to challenge the military’s traditional control of the air.
Background to Colombia’s conflict
The Colombian army has been fighting drug cartels and guerrilla groups for decades. The conflict between 1958 and 2016 is estimated to have caused the deaths of approximately 450,000 people.
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