FSB detains two Colombians who fought for Ukraine, were kidnapped in Venezuela, and extradited to Russia

Two Colombian nationals have been detained in Russia on suspicion of participation in hostilities on the side of Ukraine, state-owned media outlet RIA Novosti reports, citing Russia’s Federal Security Service (the FSB). The outlet has provided the names of the detainees: José Aron Medina Aranda and Ante Alexander. Earlier, Colombian media wrote that the two men had disappeared without a trace in Venezuela while on their way home to Colombia.

“Jose Aron Medina and his partner Ante Alexander were preparing to return home after a hard fight with Russia. As they were returning to Colombia, their family lost track of them in the neighboring country. Together with Alexander Ante, a 46-year-old former soldier from Huila who also fought against the Russians, they were preparing to arrive in Colombia, but after they reached Caracas, Venezuela, where they had a layover, their tracks disappeared. The family of the ex-soldier asks for help from different national and international organizations to keep the Colombian ex-soldiers safe and make sure they can return to their homes,” El Tiempo reported.

According to the newspaper, a friend of the family of one of the soldiers, who is in Venezuela and has been in contact with a police officer from Caracas, has confirmed that Venezuelan authorities detained the men for wearing Ukrainian army uniforms. According to the officer, wearing a Ukrainian uniform in Venezuela “is a considerable risk, given that Russia is an ally of Venezuela and can easily request extradition to its territory.”

The Russian propaganda publication Readovka reported that the Colombian men “were probably detained in Venezuela and from there extradited to Moscow, where FSB officers were already waiting for them.”

The FSB stated that during the search of the Colombians, the agency seized documents confirming their service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as military uniforms with the insignia of the Carpathian Sich Battalion. The agency published an edited video of the interrogation and search, in which the men are led with their hands behind their backs down the corridor to an office, where they “testify” in Spanish. Among the items allegedly found during the search is a printout that is supposed to resemble a Ukrainian newspaper, with the front page displaying a piece about the history of Kyiv and what appears to be a photo of one of the detainees.