From WhatsApp to war: how Cuban citizens were recruited to fight for Russia

Cuban dressmaker Yamidely Cervantes bought a new sewing machine, a refrigerator and a cell phone for the first time in years, all thanks to money sent from Russia.

Cervantes told Reuters that her husband, Enrique Gonzalez, 49, a penniless bricklayer, left their home in the village of La Federal on July 19 to fight with the Russian army in Ukraine and, days later, transferred part of his Recruitment bonus of approximately 200,000 rubles ($2,040) received in Cuban pesos.

It’s like winning the lottery for the neediest on the Caribbean island. According to Cuba’s National Bureau of Statistics and Information, it is more than 100 times higher than the state’s average monthly salary of 4,209 pesos ($17).

Few places suffer as much as La Federal, a community of about 800 people on the outskirts of Havana, where one in four residents is unemployed, according to 2022 government data.

On a 100-meter dirt road where Cervantes lives, at least three men have left for Russia since June. Another soon sold his house but did not travel, he said.

“I think we have remained like this, with one hand you can count those who have remained,” said the 42-year-old woman, looking out onto the street from a small terrace.

“Need is what is forcing this,” he said.

Reuters followed the stories of these four men, along with that of more than a dozen Cubans recruited to come to Russia in neighborhoods in and around Havana, from builders and shopkeepers to refinery and telephone company workers.

In total, 11 men ended up flying to Russia, while seven others declined at the last minute.

Interviews with many of them, as well as other friends and family, along with a mountain of WhatsApp messages, travel documents, photographs and phone numbers, have corroborated their accounts, painting the most detailed picture yet of how Cubans are doing. . support the Russian armed forces.

The Kremlin and the Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to questions about the recruitment of Cubans into the armed forces. The Cuban government also did not respond to questions posed for this report.

Reports of Cubans in the Russian military made headlines this month when the government of Cuba, a longtime ally of Russia, arrested 17 people involved in a human trafficking ring that sought to bring residents to fight in Moscow.

Cuba reiterated that it is “not part of the war in Ukraine.”

The recruits identified by Reuters volunteered to go to Russia to work for the army after receiving offers on social media from a recruiter who identified herself as “Dayana”.

At La Federal, for example, the nine recruits identified by Reuters signed up to fight in the war. In Alamar, a community east of Havana, most of the five men enlisted for noncombat-related roles such as construction, packing supplies and logistics.

Cervantes’ husband, Gonzalez, who spoke by video call from a Russian military base outside the city of Tula, south of Moscow, said he was one of 119 Cubans training there. When he arrived in Russia, he said he signed a contract translated into Spanish to work with the military.

“Everyone who came here knew what they were coming for. That they were coming to war,” he said, smiling, dressed in military fatigues, as he showed Reuters images of the camp via digital media.

Gonzalez added that the 119 Cubans present were being trained to fight in the war, although it was not yet clear where they would be sent.

“I have several friends who are there for Ukraine, yes, they are there where the bombs fall, but not for confrontation with the Ukrainians,” he added.

Reuters was unable to contact any of the other men who joined the army, although it confirmed via WhatsApp and photos that they had flown to Russia and two are now in Crimea.

Contacted for comment on the recruitment of Cubans into the Russian army, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said: “I can confirm that the Ukrainian embassy in Havana has been in contact with the Cuban authorities regarding this issue “.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

A spokesperson for the US State Department said Washington was closely monitoring the situation.

“We are deeply concerned by reports that young Cubans were deceived and recruited to fight for Russia,” the spokesperson said.

DAYANA

The Cuban recruitment activity, identified by Reuters, began weeks after a decree issued in May by President Vladimir Putin, which allowed foreigners to join the army, hired for a year to receive Russian citizenship through an expedited process, together to their spouses, children and parents.

At La Federal, according to neighbors interviewed, news of the army deployment began to spread in June. The enlistment offers were shared on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, and the topic became the talk of the town, with “Dayana” named as the contact.

Cristian Hernandez, 24, smiled when asked how many people had left the village of La Federal. “Almost all of our friends went there,” he said.

Yoan Viondi, 23, who lives a few minutes’ bike ride from the main road, said he knew about 100 people in Villa Maria, a town that includes La Federal, who had been recruited into the Russian conflict since June.

He added that a friend sent him the WhatsApp contact of “Dayana,” a Cuban woman who he said was buying plane tickets for future recruits. “Dayana” was also mentioned as an important contact by most of the recruits and family members Reuters spoke to.

Viondi wasted no time.

“Hi, good afternoon,” Viondi told “Dayana” on July 21, in a message seen by Reuters. “Please, I need information.”

“Dayana,” who appears on her chat icon as a dark-haired woman in a camouflage cap, responded with the contract terms almost instantly, according to timestamps. The first line of the message reads: “It is a contract with the Russian military that you receive citizenship.”

The contract lasted one year and included a signing bonus of 195,000 rubles, followed by a monthly salary of 200,000 rubles, plus 15 days of vacation after the first six months of work.

These terms are in line with those conveyed to Reuters by other recruits and their families.

“If they agree, just send (a copy of) their passport,” reads “Dayana’s” message.

Within two minutes, Viondi sent a digital copy of his passport. An hour later, “Dayana” responded in an audio message heard by Reuters: “Perfect, tomorrow I can tell you what day you will travel,” she said.

Reuters was unable to reach “Dayana” for comment on the number used by Viondi and others, or to confirm her number and full name.

Viondi added to Reuters that neither “Dayana” nor anyone else asked him to keep their interactions secret.

He said he remained in contact with at least four friends who had signed contracts in Russia with the army and that, as far as possible, he knew they were “doing well”. The majority, he said, are now in Ukraine.

Cuba is experiencing its worst economic crisis in decades, with long lines even for basics like food, fuel and medicine, spurring an exodus of Cubans who have traveled since last year to the United States, Latin America and Europe .

Source: Terra

Rose

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