Lured to war: Caribbean men recruited by Russia with promises of work

BAJOS DE HAINA, Dominican Republic (AFP) — Halfway around the world from Russia, in a Caribbean tourism hotspot, men, both young and old, are being lured by Moscow with tantalising job offers, only to find themselves en route to the front lines in Ukraine. Both Moscow and Kyiv have recruited thousands of foreign nationals into their armies since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Moscow is accused, in some cases, of using fake job ads to hoodwink men from deprived backgrounds in Africa, Asia and Latin America into travelling to Russia and then forcing them to fight on arrival. From countries such as India, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Colombia and Brazil, the long arm of Russian recruitment has now reached the Dominican Republic. Jesus Campusano, a 52-year-old from the impoverished port city of Bajos de Haina, was offered thousands of dollars to work as a welder in the city of Kazan. But when he arrived in the country at the end of July, he was transferred to a Russian military base, from where he fears being deployed to the war against Ukraine. The government has identified 20 Dominicans who were tricked into enlisting in the Russian armed forces, President Luis Abinader said last month in New York, adding that the matter was under investigation. Campusano applied for a job through an online link. When he arrived at Kazan airport, about 1,000 kilometres from the Ukraine border, he was given a document in Russian to sign, his 54-year-old sister Cristina told AFP. The authorities then took his passport, gave him a uniform, and told him he was going to be trained up as a police officer. But last week, his sister told AFP that they told him "they were going to take him to the war to fight". "I need the authorities to help me, because we are desperate and I want our brother back," she appealed. Amnesty International last month accused Russia of preying on civilians "from low-income countries in the Global South" with false promises of jobs in security, logistics, construction, IT and other sectors. But some of those enlisted volunteered to fight. A Dominican man, Juan Carlos Savila, has posted videos on Instagram showing himself in action on the front line. In one, he can be seen hiding in the undergrowth while gunfire and explosions ring out nearby. In another, he related how he was injured after stepping on a landmine. "We cannot forbid people from engaging in activities. What we want to do is warn them so they understand the reality of what they are signing up for," Abinader said. Carlos Sanchez Diaz, a Dominican human rights coordinator, says most of the Dominicans wearing Russian uniforms were recruited under false pretences. He estimates up to 100 were the victims of entrapment. "It's clearly a scam. These are people from vulnerable sectors, living below the poverty line," Sanchez Diaz explained. He related one device used by the recruiters: "An invitation to a cultural exchange in Kazan." "But when they arrive, there's no cultural exchange. They're put on a plane and from there taken to a military base." Maico Enrique Campusano, also from Bajos de Haina but no relation of Jesus Campusano, was offered work as an advertising professional. He travelled to Panama, where a recruiter was waiting for him, and then flew on to Kazan via Istanbul. He too ended up in a military base, being put through his paces "from 4:00 in the morning until 6:00 in the evening", according to his mother, Jaqueline del Carmen Feliz. Feliz told AFP she couldn't sleep at night with worry. "He's not Russian, nor is he Ukrainian, so he shouldn't be out there. I want him back," she said. When she asks him about the situation in Russia, he replies: "Don't worry, I'm fine." But Feliz is sceptical. "You only go to war to die," she remarked.