Could Washington Deploy Ukraine’s Veterans In Latin America Under A New Monroe Doctrine?

By Uriel Araujo

The conflicts in Ukraine and Iran are transforming asymmetric warfare, from FPV drones to electronic war. Latin American veterans and criminal groups are already entering this emerging military ecosystem. As Washington revives a Monroe Doctrine-style hemispheric strategy, Ukraine’s combat expertise could have unexpected consequences for the Americas.

The conflicts in Ukraine and Iran have revived interest in asymmetric tactics, and two prominent Latin American voices now ask whether the region itself might turn to what they call “guerrilla geopolitics”.

In a recent commentary, former Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge G. Castañeda and former Chilean Economy Minister Carlos Ominami argue that smaller powers can compensate for conventional military weakness through drones, choke points, and other irregular methods already tested on those distant battlefields.

Despite its vast resources, Latin America, they note, remains a minor player. Right-wing, pro-American gains and growing US pressure, they suggest, could push governments toward “acquiescence” rather than non-alignment.

The implication, however, may be broader: given Washington’s increasingly aggressive actions (one just needs to think of Maduro’s capture), such pressures could also encourage political actors to look for unconventional ways to assert greater autonomy. Or, as the authors put it, “it would not be surprising if (Che) Guevara’s book finds a new audience.”

The deeper issue, however, is the globalization of irregular military expertise – and the blurring lines between soldier, mercenary, contractor, criminal combatant, and intelligence operative.

As the authors put it, “the guerrilla arsenal has expanded to include autonomous drones and maritime choke points,” allowing weaker states to resist stronger adversaries and produce stalemates.

First-person-view drones (FPV) have made some forms of combat much cheaper and more accessible. But the real advantage lies not only in the technology, but also in the combat experience needed to use it effectively. Ukraine, in particular, despite its constraints, has produced an enormous pool of this kind of human capital.

And Latin Americans have already joined the flow: a UN working group has estimated that over 10,000 Colombians may have been recruited abroad, many for armed conflicts, including in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian military itself has profiled a Brazilian former Marine and French Foreign Legionnaire alongside a Colombian sniper, medic, and sapper now serving in a drone unit. Both described how their previous combat experience, against cartels and insurgents, was being adapted to Ukraine’s drone-centered battlefield.

Kyiv has long been struggling to recruit enough soldiers – even resorting to conscription squads. In this context, Foreign Policy reported last month that Colombian armed groups are seeking Ukrainian-style drone expertise – while Mexican cartels recruit returning Colombians. Colombian criminal groups have also reportedly  sought to send fighters to Ukraine to acquire such expertise for use back home.

Taken together, these cases point to a transnational flow of military expertise. Ukraine’s corruption and weapons  smuggling scandals further highlight the risks surrounding wartime weapons networks.

Colombia offers the prototype here: its long conflict produced combat-experienced personnel who later entered the global military labour market. The Atlantic Council has noted that poorly reintegrated veterans returning from Ukraine could become attractive recruits for crime syndicates.

Again, the reverse flow is already visible: criminal organizations sending people to Ukraine and receiving advanced training in return – Brazil is especially revealing: Brazilian veterans already serve in Ukrainian drone units, while PCC and Comando Vermelho gangs have experimented, in Rio, with drone tactics associated with the Ukrainian conflict – for attacks and surveillance. Distant wars do not necessarily stay distant.

Policymakers elsewhere are already thinking about what to do with this reservoir in a post-war scenario. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has proposed a permanent “European Legion” that would incorporate Ukrainian combat veterans.

Such a proposal treats combat experience as a strategic resource. The same logic applies farther afield: veterans with experience in FPV operations, counter-drone tactics, trench warfare, and tactical intelligence have “market value” as instructors, security contractors, or advisors – not necessarily as classical mercenaries.

Adding to such security risks, Washington’s current hemispheric approach is what makes things interesting: the Trump administration’s security strategy has been described as a new Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, seeking primacy across the Western Hemisphere.

In August, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth discussed potential joint US-Colombian strikes against remaining guerrilla groups and framed a counter-cartel coalition as part of a broader architecture.

One may recall that intelligence agencies have long operated in environments where organized crime and covert objectives overlap. Iran-Contra showed just how deniable networks could become entangled with trafficking routes. In Afghanistan, Operation Cyclone and later post-2001 arrangements repeatedly placed intelligence interests alongside the opium economy, a pattern documented by historians and later confirmed in official reports.

More recently, reports of deeper US intelligence involvement in Mexico’s cartel wars have raised similar concerns about escalation and blowback.

So, to Castañeda and Ominami’s warning, we can add a more complex risk: the quieter outsourcing of military knowledge.

Rather than just seeing Latin Americans adopt Guevara’s strategies, one can also speculate about a future scenario where US “security assistance” in the New Cold War flows through contractors who hire experienced instructors to train Latin American units – including, potentially, personnel with paramilitary or drug trafficking connections.

Such an arrangement could provide Washington with a degree of plausible deniability while allowing Ukrainian combat experience to enter the hemisphere’s security apparatus.

The same transnational pool can also feed private military companies, local security forces, and criminal organizations.

Taken together, the combination of Trump’s aggressive neo-Monroeism, a large reservoir of combat-experienced personnel in Ukraine, and the rapid diffusion of asymmetric tools creates a dangerous new environment for the Americas.

Uriel Araujo, Anthropology PhD, is a social scientist specializing in ethnic and religious conflicts, with extensive research on geopolitical dynamics and cultural interactions.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Voice of East.

Categories: Analysis, Geopolitics, International Affairs

Tags: Brazil, drones, Europe, Geopolitics, Iran, Latin America, neo-Monroeism, New Cold War, Ukraine, USA