Cuba uncovers human trafficking of Cubans to fight for Russia in Ukraine

[BumRushDaShow]

Last edited Tue Sep 5, 2023, 11:28 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: Reuters

September 5, 202311:13 AM EDT

HAVANA, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Cuba has uncovered a human trafficking ring that coerced its citizens to fight for Russia in the war in Ukraine, its foreign ministry said, adding that Cuban authorities were working to "neutralize and dismantle" the network. The statement from Cuba's foreign ministry late on Monday gave few details, but noted the trafficking ring was operating both within the Caribbean island nation, thousands of miles from Moscow, and in Russia.

"The Ministry of the Interior... is working on the neutralization and dismantling of a human trafficking network that operates from Russia to incorporate Cuban citizens living there, and even some from Cuba, into the military forces participating in war operations in Ukraine," the Cuban government statement said. Russia's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Russia last year announced a plan to boost the size of its armed forces by more than 30% to 1.5 million combat personnel, a lofty goal made harder by its heavy but undisclosed casualties in the war. In late May, a Russia newspaper in Ryazan city reported that several Cuban citizens had signed contracts with Russia's armed forces and had been shipped to Ukraine in return for Russian citizenship. It was not immediately clear if the Cuban foreign ministry statement was associated with the Ryazan report.

Russia, which has strong political ties with communist-run Cuba, has long been an important destination for Cuban migrants seeking to escape economic stagnation at home. The defense ministers of Cuba and Russia earlier this year discussed the development of joint "technical military" projects at a meeting in Moscow. But the administration of Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel denies any involvement in the Ukraine conflict.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/cuba-uncovers-human-trafficking-cubans-fight-russia-ukraine-2023-09-05/

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Article updated.

Original article -

September 4, 2023 10:40 PM EDT

HAVANA, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Cuba has uncovered a human trafficking ring that has coerced its citizens to fight for Russia in the war in Ukraine, its foreign ministry said on Monday, adding that Cuban authorities were working to "neutralize and dismantle" the network.

The statement from Cuba's foreign ministry gave few details, but noted the trafficking ring was operating both within the Caribbean island nation, thousands of miles from Moscow, and in Russia.

"The Ministry of the Interior...is working on the neutralization and dismantling of a human trafficking network that operates from Russia to incorporate Cuban citizens living there, and even some from Cuba, into the military forces participating in war operations in Ukraine," the Cuban government statement said. The Russian government has not commented on the allegations.

Russia last year announced a plan to boost the size of its armed forces by more than 30% to 1.5 million combat personnel, a lofty goal made harder by its heavy but of yet undisclosed casualties in the war. In late May, a Russia newspaper in Ryazan city reported that several Cuban citizens had signed contracts with Russia's armed forces and had been shipped to Ukraine in return for Russian citizenship. It was not immediately clear if the Cuban foreign ministry statement was associated with the Ryazan report.

[Lonestarblue]

1. Let's send all those right-wing white supremacists already armed with assault rifles to Ukraine

to fight. Ukraine is a primarily white country, which they should love. Since they keep wanting to commit violence, let them do it against Russians!

[caraher]

4. One not-so-small problem

They'd want to fight for Putin, not against him

[KS Toronado]

5. Thanks to Tucker Carlson & FQX news

[Wonder Why]

2. So good to have friends that coerce your citizins into dying for them.

[Martin68]

3. I rather doubt that Cuban citizens are being kidnapped. Rather they appear to have been offered

contracts. I'm not sure where the "coercion" comes in. Is this mainly a political decision to prevent Cuban citizens from supporting Russia in their war against Ukraine? I'd like to hear more details about why Cuba considers this "human trafficking. That said, I sympathize with the policy. I'd like to see the US work with Cuba to support human rights there and boost the economy for the benefit of a very stressed population. I don't se Cuba as a threat to the US, so I

[ancianita]

6. Your idea re contracts is quite plausible.

Russia still maintains an embassy in Havana, and the embassy could be the location for individuals who sign up to fight on the Russian paymaster side. But the idea that Cuba as a socialist country would officially back Putin against Ukraine isn't plausible. From my two visits there, I've gathered that most Cubans want international sovereignty respect for all nations, as they want for themselves from us and the West, and they aren't in the pro-Putin fascist war business.

[Martin68]

7. It looks like you misunderstood my post. I wrote "Is this mainly a political decision to prevent

Cuban citizens from supporting Russia in their war against Ukraine?" meaning that the government called it trafficking and cracked down on it prevent Cuban citizens from signing up with the Russian military to fight Ukraine. If so, it's a political decision because it isn't really trafficking, but calling it that was an excuse to shut it down.

[ancianita]

11. Okay. I read your question, and chose to respond to your other points.

Rather they appear to have been offered contracts. I'm not sure where the "coercion" comes in.

We don't know what the Cuban government's official stand is, but I appreciate your thinking on its likely motives.

[Martin68]

12. What is the point you are making about coercion? The article said the Cuban government stated

there was coercion involved in the hiring process. Can you ell me what coercion they are referring to?

[ancianita]

13. If the Cuban govt said there was coercion, then

it could imply that contracts were just used as cover for what ends up being more like human trafficking than volunteering.

I've no real interest in arguing points you made, just interest in supporting the Cuban govt's likely attempt to look out for Cubans and to keep solidarity with Ukraine that doesn't also cause some high visibility offense to fascist Putin.

[Martin68]

14. I'm just asking for more details that the article didn't provide. Some are speculating here that the

"contracts" might be a way to lure people into Russia only to find that the military now owns them. That would fit under the rubric of coercion. I support the Cuban government's actions here but would just like more information about exactly what's happening. Your lack of curiosity is surprising to me.

[ancianita]

15. I actually am curious. But this report needs others to corroborate and elaborate. I'm pretty

busy today, and just don't have the energy to argue points the Cuban government won't. As the NYT reports, if the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Cuba's had

a “firm and clear historical position against mercenarism” and said that it was “not part of the war in Ukraine,” then I support it.

The statement did not say who was behind the trafficking network, or how many people had been affected. The claims had not been independently verified, and the Russian authorities did not immediately comment.
The Moscow Times reported that a social media account under the name of Elena Shuvalova had for months been posting ads in a Facebook group called “Cubans in Moscow” offering a one-year contract with the Russian Army. On Tuesday, the group had nearly 76,000 members. The statement from the Cuban Foreign Ministry did not mention the group.

... then I back what it's doing, even if the wording isn't so clarifying.

I've a love for Cuba that goes back to my childhood in Florida; that and my travel experiences there drive my comments. That's one reason I can speculate that Cuba doesn't want to raise the ire of Russia, and so there's some lack of clarity about the network's origins. The Russian Embassy in Havana should be interviewed; even if they won't comment, they'd know more about who and why this happened.

[Martin68]

16. Me, too. I knew quite a few Cubans when I lived in Miami, and I met others when I was living in

Venezuela. Love the music and the people. Not lookin for an argument.

[ancianita]

17. Excelente! I grew up in Hollywood/Ft. Lauderdale, took Spanish from 8th through 12th grade,

practiced it with two Cubans I personally knew in my neighborhood.

[Martin68]

18. I went to 1st and 2nd grade in El Salvador, 6-8 grades in Caracas, and 10-12 in Bogota.

I went to Coral Gables Middle School in Miami for 9th grade in 1967, and Cuban Spanish was the primary language during recess. I enjoy talking with landscapers and arborists from Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico that I run into in the neighborhood here in Virginia. They are all decent hard-working family people with a great attitude towards life.

[ancianita]

19. Wow. Quizas tenemos que hablar a veces.

I met a good friend in a New York summer job who went to Coral Gables. We drove back to FL when our job ended, and kept in touch. My experience in Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Chicago's Mexican community, and New Mexico's Chicanos of the Mimbres Valley, are also why I wholeheartedly agree with your description of the Latino world's working class character and culture. Like you I enjoy talking with my landscapers here in FL, all of them from Spanish speaking countries. We have been bad neighbors del Norte. For that past treatment, I resent the US. I can't blame Argentina for joining the BRICS alliance next year.

[Martin68]

20. I want them to know that some of us really appreciate having them in this country.

[ancianita]

21. Me, too.

[haele]

22. Sounds like they might be getting lied to to get them to sign. Otherwise, it's not human trafficking

Not uncommon in poor countries, they get recruited to do one thing - like logistics support, or maintenance; then when they get to Russia, they're sent to a fighting unit going to Ukraine.

Contract bait and switch between two different nationalities is considered human trafficking.

Haele

[Martin68]

23. If so, that qualifies as human trafficking. Wouldn't doubt the Russians would do that.

[flying_wahini]

8. If they sign a contract to fight I don't think it qualifies as human trafficking.

IMO

[BumRushDaShow]

9. The OP article only mentioned that it was only "several"

who had "signed contracts". Certainly not a battalion's worth!

In late May, a Russia newspaper in Ryazan city reported that several Cuban citizens had signed contracts with Russia's armed forces and had been shipped to Ukraine in return for Russian citizenship.

I think what they are talking about regarding "trafficking" is almost like what we have seen done by GOP states with the immigrants crossing the Mexican border into the U.S., and then getting some "3rd party" to coerce them with "promises of jobs and housing", to get them on a bus to some destination.

You have a literal sea-change, post-breakup of the Soviet Union, where "Communism" isn't really going on in what is now "Russia", whereas Cuba is still practicing it. So given ideology changes, the only one really left (on a "grand" scale) is China. And China is busy working on their "belt and road" project. I don't think they have really engaged Cuba, probably defaulting them to Russia. But it will be interesting how that all pans out.

[BumRushDaShow]

10. ANNNNDDD... I just found a NYT article with some more info

Cuba Says Its Citizens Were Lured to Fight in Russia’s War in Ukraine

By Valeriya Safronova

Sept. 5, 2023, 11:15 a.m. ET

(snip)

The Moscow Times reported that a social media account under the name of Elena Shuvalova had for months been posting ads in a Facebook group called “Cubans in Moscow” offering a one-year contract with the Russian Army. On Tuesday, the group had nearly 76,000 members. The statement from the Cuban Foreign Ministry did not mention the group.

Cuba has been a close ally of Russia since the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Álvaro López Miera, the head of Cuba’s Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, visited Moscow in June. He was received by his Russian counterpart, Sergei K. Shoigu, who said that Cuba was Russia’s “most important ally” in the Caribbean. “Our Cuban friends confirmed their attitude toward our country, including demonstrating a full understanding of the reasons for the start of a special military operation in Ukraine,” Mr. Shoigu said at the time, according to reports from Tass, a Russian state media agency.

(snip)

It is not the first time that a country has claimed that its citizens were being recruited to fight for Russia in Ukraine. In late June, a prosecutor’s office in the Kostanay region of north Kazakhstan issued a statement saying that advertisements attempting to recruit people to “participate in the armed conflict in Ukraine” had been appearing on social media and elsewhere online. The statement said that mercenary activities were prohibited by the Kazakh Constitution, and that serving in military operations in a foreign country was a criminal offense.

In 2022, some independent Russian media outlets reported that Central Asian migrants in Russia were being recruited for the war, with some receiving promises from people who claimed to be immigration lawyers that their Russian citizenship application would be expedited if they took part.

(snip)

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/05/world/europe/cuba-russia-war-human-trafficking.html