Why are former Colombian soldiers in Haiti?Experts call them popular mercenaries Reuters

Authors: Luis Jaime Acosta and Julia Sims Cobb

BOGOTA (Reuters)-Military officials and experts said Friday that well-trained Colombian soldiers who live loosely after retirement are often given the opportunity to trade abroad as private military contractors, from Iraq to Yemen.

At least 17 former members of the Colombian army are among the suspects in the assassination of Haitian President Giovinel Moys this week https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/colombian-suspects-haiti-presidents-killing- arrived-via- dominican-republic-2021-07-09. Earlier Wednesday, he was shot and killed by a group of foreign mercenaries at his home.

Amid widespread gang violence, the assassination has plunged Haiti into deeper political turmoil. The motive for the killing-and its knowledge of the author-remains unknown.

But for those who want to hire mercenaries, Colombia is a popular choice. The nearly 60 years of internal conflict in this South American country has provided soldiers with a productive training ground.

For those who have received elite counter-terrorism training, they may retire in their 40s at the earliest. This leaves many people with only a meager pension and do not know what to do next.

General Luis Fernando Navarro, the commander of the armed forces, told reporters: “The recruitment of Colombian soldiers to other parts of the world as mercenaries is a long-standing problem because there is no law prohibiting it.”

“For example, there are a large number of Colombian soldiers in Dubai.”

Sean McFate, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank, said that the United Arab Emirates has always been an important customer of former Colombian soldiers, sending them to join forces from Panama, El Salvador and Chile in Yemen with Iran-backed Hu Serbian armed combat. Professor of Georgetown University and National Defense University.

McFart wrote in a 2019 report that the fees charged by Latinos are only a small fraction of former soldiers in the United States or the United Kingdom, even if their income is as high as four times the salary of the old military.

Navarro said that retired soldiers have the opportunity to participate in the courses of the Columbia Institute of Technology, but the military will not pay close attention to retirees.

General Eduardo Zapatero, commander-in-chief of the Colombian army, told Reuters that Colombians are often recruited as mercenaries “because they have a wealth of experience.”

“It’s a shame because we train them to do other things,” he said.

A military source told Reuters that Colombian soldiers who have experience in counter-insurgency and urban counter-terrorism or trained in countries such as the United States and Israel are usually the targets of recruitment.

All young Colombian men must spend at least one year in the military or police state, but those who go to college and can afford to pay are forgiven.

Remaining to become a full-time soldier may be one of the few formal jobs available to those born in poverty, especially in rural areas hit hard by conflict.

This work is low paid, dangerous, and involves staying away from relatives and facing distrust of the armed forces where soldiers are accused of sometimes guilty of human rights violations.

McFate said that while American companies like Blackwater are still the most famous private military contractors, many former fighters in other countries are now imitating American suppliers.

“Every day, new private military groups emerge from countries such as Russia, Uganda, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Colombia. Their services are stronger than Blackwater, they provide greater combat effectiveness, and they are willing to work for the highest bidder. Consider less human rights,” McFart wrote in the report.

“In every way, they are mercenaries.”