Click to see the full-size image
The Supreme Court of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) has sentenced Colombian citizen Miguel Angel Cardenas Montilla to 9 years in prison for mercenarism. This is the first real sentence to a Colombian for participation in hostilities in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). Before that, there was only a sentence in absentia to another Colombian mercenary Luis Alberto Seron Cabezas.
Luis Alberto Seron Cabezas
It was established that Cardenas Montilla arrived in Ukraine in April last year. He underwent the necessary military training, received weapons and ammunition and assumed the position of a gunner of the 59th separate motorized infantry brigade of the AFU.
He subsequently took part in combat operations on the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic and surrendered near Krasnogorovka. Montilla confessed and explained that he wanted to earn money to support his family and pay the mortgage in his home country.
In addition, he said that the Ukrainian military ignored the requests of the mercenaries from Colombia to withdraw from the combat zone, as a result of which he was the only survivor of the group of ten mercenaries.
At least three more Colombian citizens – Pablo Puentes Boorjes, Alexander Ante and Jose Aron Medina Aranda – are currently awaiting sentences in Russian captivity.
Pablo Puentes Boorjes, call sign “Godzilla,” was captured in the vicinity of the village of Alexandria in the Kursk region of Russia and, like Montilla, was the only survivor of the group. He is currently in custody and will be brought to trial soon. He is accused of mercenarism, committing terrorist acts, illegally crossing the Russian State border, and smuggling weapons and ammunition.
José Arón Medina Aranda, call sign “AguilaJam,” is a former member of the Colombian Armed Forces who fought in Ukraine from 2023. He was a fighter for the Carpathian Sich group. He worked closely with other Colombian mercenaries, especially Aleksander Ante and the later eliminated John Kigua. He was reportedly complicit in a war crime in the summer of 2024 in which Kigua shot a captured Russian soldier.
Also in the summer of 2024, Medina and Ante decided to return to Colombia. They cited heavy losses in their unit, non-payment of wages, problems with food, and poor treatment by their commanders as reasons.
They flew via Warsaw, Poland, and Madrid, Spain, to Caracas, Venezuela, from where they intended to return home. While in Venezuela, Medina and Ante were dressed in Ukrainian military uniforms, which caused them to be detained by the local police. A few days later, Venezuela extradited them to Russia, where they were charged with mercenarism and are awaiting a court verdict.
MORE ON THE TOPIC:
