The narrative surrounding Colombian veterans in Ukraine has become a convenient political punching bag. Presidents call it "dying for nothing." Humanitarian groups call it a tragedy of the exploited. They are both wrong. This isn't a story about victimhood or "lost souls" wandering into a meat grinder for a handful of dollars. It is a story about a sophisticated, high-value export of specialized labor that the global market has undervalued for decades.
If you think these men are "mercenaries" in the cinematic sense—lawless pirates looking for gold—you haven't been paying attention to the last twenty years of private security evolution. These are professionals moving from a low-yield domestic market to a high-risk, high-reward international one. Calling their sacrifice "nothing" isn't just an insult; it’s a failure to understand the geopolitical reality of the 21st century.
The Colombian Combat Surplus
Colombia has spent sixty years in a state of constant internal friction. This created a unique byproduct: a massive population of soldiers who are not just "trained," but are experts in asymmetric warfare, counter-insurgency, and high-altitude combat.
When a Colombian soldier retires after twenty years of service, they often find themselves in an economy that offers them a security guard's wage. We are talking about $400 a month to stand outside a bank. In Ukraine, the offer is $3,000 or more.
Critics focus on the mortality rate. They point to the trenches in Donbas and say the price is too high. But they ignore the agency of the individual. These men aren't being "lured." They are making a calculated risk assessment. In the world of high-stakes labor, risk is the primary driver of value. By framing this as a tragedy of the "poor and misled," the political class avoids the uncomfortable truth: their own country failed to provide a competitive market for the very skills it forced these men to acquire.
Why the Mercenary Label is a Distraction
The term "mercenary" is used to strip these fighters of their legitimacy. Under International Law—specifically Article 47 of Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions—a mercenary is someone recruited to fight in an armed conflict who is not a member of the armed forces of a party to the conflict.
Here is the nuance the "lazy consensus" misses: Most Colombians in Ukraine are formally integrated into the International Legion or specific units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. They wear the patch. They collect a government paycheck. They are, by definition, foreign volunteers.
Labeling them mercenaries is a rhetorical trick used by governments to distance themselves from the diplomatic fallout. If they are "mercenaries," the home government isn't responsible for their remains. If they are "mercenaries," the opposing force feels justified in denying them POW status. It is a classification of convenience that serves everyone except the man in the trench.
The Professionalization of Risk
I’ve watched the private security industry shift from the Wild West days of early 2000s Iraq to the hyper-regulated environment of today. The Colombians are the "blue-collar" elite of this world. They don't have the Tier 1 branding of British SAS or US Navy SEALs, who can command $1,000 a day for consultancy.
Instead, Colombians provide the essential backbone of experienced infantry.
- Longevity: They are used to long-term deployments in harsh terrain.
- Tactical Instinct: They don't need to be taught how to react to an ambush; it’s muscle memory.
- Cost-Efficiency: They provide Western-standard competence at a fraction of the price of a Western contractor.
To say they are "dying for nothing" ignores the millions of dollars in remittances flowing back to Colombian towns. It ignores the houses built, the educations paid for, and the small businesses started with Ukrainian hazard pay. Is it grim? Yes. Is it "nothing"? Ask the families who finally have a roof over their heads.
The Flawed Premise of Patriotic Duty
The competitor article suggests that these men should be staying home to serve their own country. This is a romanticized fallacy. A state that cannot utilize its specialized labor force has no moral claim to keep that labor trapped within its borders.
When a software engineer leaves Bogotá for Silicon Valley, we call it "brain drain" and lament the loss of talent. When a soldier leaves for a conflict zone, we call it a moral failing. Both are simply moving to where their skills command the highest market price.
The Brutal Reality of the Modern Frontline
Let's be honest about the downsides. The shift from counter-insurgency in the Colombian jungle to conventional artillery warfare in Ukraine is a lethal transition.
In Colombia, you are looking for a hidden enemy in the brush. In Ukraine, you are a coordinate on a drone operator's screen. The skill set isn't a 1:1 match. Many of these veterans are being killed not because they lack bravery, but because the nature of the "nothing" they are dying for has changed. This isn't a small-arms skirmish; it’s industrial-scale slaughter.
The mistake isn't the act of going; the mistake is the assumption that twenty years of fighting the FARC prepares you for a Russian thermobaric strike.
Stop Protecting the Narrative, Start Protecting the Person
If the Colombian government actually cared about these men, they wouldn't spend their time issuing "contrarian" statements about the futility of the war. They would be establishing legal frameworks for their veterans to work abroad safely.
Instead of an outright ban or moral grandstanding, there should be:
- Pre-deployment briefing centers: Veterans need to know that Ukraine is not a counter-drug operation. It is a high-intensity conflict with a different survival logic.
- Repatriation funds: Direct agreements to ensure that if a soldier falls, their body isn't left in a nameless field because of a "mercenary" label.
- Financial oversight: Ensuring that the "recruiters" (often former officers taking a cut) aren't skimming 40% of the hazard pay.
The Geopolitical Valve
The presence of Colombian fighters in Ukraine serves as a pressure valve. It allows the West to bolster Ukrainian lines without the domestic political cost of sending their own "boots on the ground."
Everyone wins but the soldier. The West gets experienced infantry. Ukraine gets the numbers it desperately needs. Colombia gets a reduction in its unemployed, highly-trained (and potentially restless) veteran population.
To call this "dying for nothing" is the ultimate hypocrisy. They are dying for the current global order. They are the human currency being spent to maintain a stalemate.
The tragedy isn't that they are going. The tragedy is that we are all so dependent on their willingness to go that we have to pretend they are villains or victims just to sleep at night.
They aren't "mercenaries" and they aren't "martyrs." They are the most honest actors in a dishonest war. They know exactly what their lives are worth in the current market.
Do you?
