--- title: "Colombian Mercenaries Are Fighting Wars Across the World. Why?" description: "From Ukraine to Sudan, discover why Colombian mercenaries dominate modern battlefields, the shadowy networks recruiting them, and the human cost behind one of the world's fastest-growing industries of war today. Stay ahead of global conflicts with WarFronts Weekly. Get sharp, no-nonsense military analysis straight to your inbox. Subscribe: https://fronts.co/warfronts-weekly Get full conflict briefings, and members-only analysis at fronts.co https://fronts.co Join the community and discuss current flashpoints in real time: https://www.reddit.com/r/frontsco Love the content? Explore Simon's other YouTube channels: Megaprojects: https://www.youtube.com/@megaprojects9649 SideProjects: https://www.youtube.com/@Sideprojects Into The Shadows: https://www.youtube.com/@IntotheShadows Today I Found Out: https://www.youtube.com/@TodayIFoundOut Brain Blaze: https://www.youtube.com/@brainblaze6526 Casual Criminalist: https://www.youtube.com/@TheCasualCriminalist Decoding the Unknown: https://www.youtube.com/@decodingtheunknown2373 Places: https://www.youtube.com/@Places302 Celestium: https://www.youtube.com/@Celestium1234 HomeFronts: https://www.youtube.com/@homefronts Simon on social: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SimonWhistler Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonwhistler/ References https://www.inss.org.il/publication/mercenaries-in-the-middle-east/ https://icct.nl/publication/foreign-fighters-foreign-volunteers-and-mercenaries-ukrainian-armed-conflict https://www.sipri.org/yearbook/2023/04 https://acleddata.com/report/wagner-group-operations-africa-civilian-targeting-trends-central-african-republic-and-mali https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/26/world/middleeast/emirates-secretly-sends-colombian-mercenaries-to-fight-in-yemen.html https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/08/four-men-convicted-haitian-president-assassination https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-57762246 https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2026/05/08/us-jusy-convicts-four-men-over-plot-to-assassinate-president-of-haiti67532704.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/07/world/americas/haiti-assassination-colombia-mercenaries.html https://aa.com.tr/en/americas/colombias-president-apologizes-to-haiti-for-involvement-of-compatriots-in-moise-killing/3459801 https://thecitypaperbogota.com/global/colombians-now-the-biggest-foreign-contingent-on-ukraines-frontlines/ https://mondediplo.com/2024/02/06colombia https://adf-magazine.com/2026/01/report-exposes-colombian-mercenaries-fighting-for-rsf/ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/08/colombian-mercenaries-sudan-war?utmsource=substack&utmmedium=email https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/uae-colombia-sign-comprehensive-economic-partnership-agreement-uae-president-2024-04-18/ https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn4vk13wgwwo https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93nxqw00xxo https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6967365f36aacc18599406e8/t/69e7da4dad33435e658c982c/1776802495385/BloodMoneyCIG.pdf https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2003/6/5/israels-latin-american-trail-of-terror https://www.wrmea.org/other/colombias-challenge-to-israeli-impunity.html https://jacobin.com/2024/05/colombia-israel-patriotic-union-genocide https://www.pilotonline.com/2006/09/02/blackwater-and-colombian-workers-clash-over-pay-scale/ https://www.thetimes.com/comment/register/article/colombian-mercenaries-weigh-in-to-yemen-war-zqwwx8dj9rv https://www.seasonsofcrime.com/p/how-blackwater-conquered-latin-america https://archive-yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/latin-americas-hidden-war-iraq https://truthout.org/articles/blackwater-founder-forms-secret-army-for-uae/ https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/hundreds-colombian-mercenaries-fight-saudi-led-coalition-yemen https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2026/02/04/why-so-many-colombians-fight-in-foreign-wars https://newlinesmag.com/argument/from-afghanistan-to-colombia-the-war-on-terror-has-failed/ https://x.com/umutcagrisari/status/1978866027489288339 https://www.lasillavacia.com/silla-nacional/mercenarios-colombianos-entrenan-a-ninos-soldado-en-sudan/ https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/dec/19/colombian-mercenaries-sudan-rsf-us-sanctions-recruited-uk-registered-firms-investigation https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/dispatches/why-colombias-veterans-are-going-to-war-in-ukraine/ https://apnews.com/article/sudan-rsf-uae-weapons-colombia-mercenaries-war-a696a7a451bb69354d6943c452106bc0 https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210710-mercenaries-the-sinister-export-from-colombia-s-conflict https://www.wsj.com/world/africa/sudan-colombian-mercenaries-global-security-services-9ff2a201?gaaat=eafs&gaan=AWEtsqdEvl6GSHRn9Dt93ToVf6pyjFzuG9nCh0cQQAaVOLUUMc1GrAKrBLMWMKvKHg%3D&gaats=69a60481&gaasig=J2KYp5BL6JQqHdpSvwhxHOm5NtsLgGyn591lmJ2a6bNSuTIWOdedPN63-ynlT9QEFOreto90vymDcWFX6N4w%3D%3D https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-colombia-mercenaries-sudan-child-soldiers-gustavo-petro/" url: https://fronts.co/videos/warfronts-at2-yscvwva.md canonical: https://fronts.co/videos/warfronts-at2-yscvwva/ datePublished: 2026-06-09T17:00:22.000Z dateModified: 2026-06-09T17:00:22.000Z author: - name: Fronts Staff url: https://fronts.co/authors/fronts-team/ publisher: Fronts type: NewsArticle language: en access: members isAccessibleForFree: false tokens: 1255 --- From Ukraine to Sudan, discover why Colombian mercenaries dominate modern battlefields, the shadowy networks recruiting them, and the human cost behind one of the world's fastest-growing industries of war today. Stay ahead of global conflicts with WarFronts Weekly. Get sharp, no-nonsense military analysis straight to your inbox. Subscribe: https://fronts.co/warfronts-weekly Get full conflict briefings, and members-only analysis at fronts.co https://fronts.co Join the community and discuss current flashpoints in real time: https://www.reddit.com/r/frontsco Love the content? Explore Simon's other YouTube channels: Megaprojects: https://www.youtube.com/@megaprojects9649 SideProjects: https://www.youtube.com/@Sideprojects Into The Shadows: https://www.youtube.com/@IntotheShadows Today I Found Out: https://www.youtube.com/@TodayIFoundOut Brain Blaze: https://www.youtube.com/@brainblaze6526 Casual Criminalist: https://www.youtube.com/@TheCasualCriminalist Decoding the Unknown: https://www.youtube.com/@decodingtheunknown2373 Places: https://www.youtube.com/@Places302 Celestium: https://www.youtube.com/@Celestium1234 HomeFronts: https://www.youtube.com/@homefronts Simon on social: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SimonWhistler Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonwhistler/ References https://www.inss.org.il/publication/mercenaries-in-the-middle-east/ https://icct.nl/publication/foreign-fighters-foreign-volunteers-and-mercenaries-ukrainian-armed-conflict https://www.sipri.org/yearbook/2023/04 https://acleddata.com/report/wagner-group-operations-africa-civilian-targeting-trends-central-african-republic-and-mali https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/26/world/middleeast/emirates-secretly-sends-colombian-mercenaries-to-fight-in-yemen.html https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/08/four-men-convicted-haitian-president-assassination https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-57762246 https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2026/05/08/us-jusy-convicts-four-men-over-plot-to-assassinate-president-of-haiti67532704.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/07/world/americas/haiti-assassination-colombia-mercenaries.html https://aa.com.tr/en/americas/colombias-president-apologizes-to-haiti-for-involvement-of-compatriots-in-moise-killing/3459801 https://thecitypaperbogota.com/global/colombians-now-the-biggest-foreign-contingent-on-ukraines-frontlines/ https://mondediplo.com/2024/02/06colombia https://adf-magazine.com/2026/01/report-exposes-colombian-mercenaries-fighting-for-rsf/ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/08/colombian-mercenaries-sudan-war?utmsource=substack&utmmedium=email https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/uae-colombia-sign-comprehensive-economic-partnership-agreement-uae-president-2024-04-18/ https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn4vk13wgwwo https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93nxqw00xxo https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6967365f36aacc18599406e8/t/69e7da4dad33435e658c982c/1776802495385/BloodMoneyCIG.pdf https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2003/6/5/israels-latin-american-trail-of-terror https://www.wrmea.org/other/colombias-challenge-to-israeli-impunity.html https://jacobin.com/2024/05/colombia-israel-patriotic-union-genocide https://www.pilotonline.com/2006/09/02/blackwater-and-colombian-workers-clash-over-pay-scale/ https://www.thetimes.com/comment/register/article/colombian-mercenaries-weigh-in-to-yemen-war-zqwwx8dj9rv https://www.seasonsofcrime.com/p/how-blackwater-conquered-latin-america https://archive-yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/latin-americas-hidden-war-iraq https://truthout.org/articles/blackwater-founder-forms-secret-army-for-uae/ https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/hundreds-colombian-mercenaries-fight-saudi-led-coalition-yemen https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2026/02/04/why-so-many-colombians-fight-in-foreign-wars https://newlinesmag.com/argument/from-afghanistan-to-colombia-the-war-on-terror-has-failed/ https://x.com/umutcagrisari/status/1978866027489288339 https://www.lasillavacia.com/silla-nacional/mercenarios-colombianos-entrenan-a-ninos-soldado-en-sudan/ https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/dec/19/colombian-mercenaries-sudan-rsf-us-sanctions-recruited-uk-registered-firms-investigation https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/dispatches/why-colombias-veterans-are-going-to-war-in-ukraine/ https://apnews.com/article/sudan-rsf-uae-weapons-colombia-mercenaries-war-a696a7a451bb69354d6943c452106bc0 https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210710-mercenaries-the-sinister-export-from-colombia-s-conflict https://www.wsj.com/world/africa/sudan-colombian-mercenaries-global-security-services-9ff2a201?gaaat=eafs&gaan=AWEtsqdEvl6GSHRn9Dt93ToVf6pyjFzuG9nCh0cQQAaVOLUUMc1GrAKrBLMWMKvKHg%3D&gaats=69a60481&gaasig=J2KYp5BL6JQqHdpSvwhxHOm5NtsLgGyn591lmJ2a6bNSuTIWOdedPN63-ynlT9QEFOreto90vymDcWFX6N4w%3D%3D https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-colombia-mercenaries-sudan-child-soldiers-gustavo-petro/ --- Full analysis is behind the paywall. Read the gated piece at https://fronts.co/videos/warfronts-at2-yscvwva/.