US is using mercenaries to destabilize situation in countries outside its control — expert

russian news agencyRUSearchSectionsCloseEconomySportsCulture CloseRussian Politics & DiplomacyRussian Politics & DiplomacyInto section →FOREIGN POLICYDOMESTIC POLICYWorldWorldInto section →Business & EconomyBusiness & EconomyInto section →Oil & gas industryInternet & TelecomTrade & CooperationTransportMilitary & DefenseMilitary & DefenseInto section →Science & SpaceScience & SpaceInto section →Emergencies Emergencies Into section →Society & CultureSociety & CultureInto section →Press ReviewPress ReviewInto section →SportsSportsInto section →Special projectsTASSAgencyTASS todayHistoryManagementContactsProjects & ServicesTASS-PHOTONEWS TERMINALPersonal data processing policy TASSPress ReleasesPrivacy Policy​ tass.comTerms of useANTI-CorruptionSubscribeSocial MediaTelegramSubscriptionsRSSAdvertisingContacts{{dayPoint.date | date : 'd MMMM yyyy'}}{{newsPoint.date * 1000 | date : 'HH:mm'}} {{newsPoint.mark}}{{newsPoint.title}}{{newsPoint.title+ ' '}}{{newsPoint.subtitle}}All newsUS is using mercenaries to destabilize situation in countries outside its control — expert Alexander Stepanov said the goal is to use this tool to bring Washington-controlled political forces to powerMOSCOW, May 6. /TASS/. Washington is using mercenaries to destabilize the domestic political situation in Latin American countries that pursue policies independent of the US, Alexander Stepanov, a military expert at the Institute of Law and National Security within the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), told TASS. "The mercenary instrument is an established practice of projecting military threats through proxies, including toward Russia. We can observe similar processes in Latin American countries, where individual governments unfavorable to the US are now under threat from these militant groups’ efforts to destabilize domestic political systems. The goal is to use this tool to bring Washington-controlled political forces to power. There is a very fierce struggle underway for Colombia and Brazil," the expert said, commenting on Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s recent statement about 7,000 Colombian citizens fighting on the side of Kiev. According to Stepanov, the campaign to inflate the involvement of Colombian drug cartel members in the Ukrainian armed forces is aimed, among other things, at discrediting the current president ahead of the elections, as he is a consistent opponent of the involvement of Colombian citizens in the Kiev regime’s illegal activities. Thus, in December last year, the Colombian president decided to sign the 1989 UN International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries, and Colombia ratified it this March. The expert emphasized that Ukraine serves as a training ground not only for the Western military-industrial complex but also for structures that provide a supply line for mercenaries. "They gain combat experience and training, including as drone operators, and then return to their countries of origin and act as a destabilizing tool," Stepanov noted. Earlier, Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote on his X social media page: "In Ukraine, there are 7,000 Colombians who have received military training, taking part in an alien war and dying without reason. We do not want to export death. Mercenarism is prohibited by law."