Russian mercenary group tasked with killing Ukrainian President Zelensky active in Venezuela

Last month, a report published by The Times of London revealed that the Kremlin deployed more than 400 paid mercenaries into Kyiv tasked with decapitating Zelensky’s government in return for a handsome financial bonus.

According to the report, between 2,000 and 4,000 mercenaries with the Wagner Group — a private Russian military company formed by Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin during the 2014 Crimea war — entered Ukraine through Belarus in January and were ordered to kill 23 senior Ukrainian figures, including President Zelensky, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.

In December of 2021, the European Union sanctioned the Kremlin-backed Wagner Group for serious human rights abuses during operations conducted in Libya, Syria, the Central African Republic and Ukraine’s Donbas region.

"The activities of this group reflect the Russian hybrid warfare. They represent a threat and create instability in a number of countries around the world," said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

Yet, while the mercenary group has gained its infamous reputation in Russian combat areas, it should be noted that the group is also operational in the Western Hemisphere – namely in Venezuela.

In January 2019, Reuters reported that contractors from the Wagner Group flew to Venezuela from Cuba, tasked with helping protect dictator Nicolas Maduro as mass protests rocked the country and threatening his grip on power.

Although Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied the claims, claiming “We have no such information,” Yevgeny Shabayev, the head of a Cossack paramilitary group with ties to Russian military contractors, said he believed about 400 mercenaries were likely in Venezuela.

Similarly, Venezuelan National Guard General Marco Antonio Ferreira Torres recently told Infobae that Russian mercenaries are stationed in his country and regularly carry out espionage and intelligence work.

"In Venezuela the Wagner group is growing in presence, with 280 men operating in Venezuela, working as contractors, analysts, electronic spies and drone unit operators under the protection of the Maduro regime,” he noted.

Although Ferreira believes the sanctions imposed on Russia will slow the Kremlin’s advance on Latin America, he warned that the U.S. could be forced to intervene if Russian activities in the region increase.

"When the military or political ecosystem in South or Central America is severely altered, it is not that the United States will invade, it is that it will have to intervene to bring order,” the general said.