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El Boletín: Why so many Colombians fight in foreign wars

2026-02-16 · 19:03 UTC ·The Economist ·7 min read

Brief

Colombia’s export of fighters is presented as a labor-market and state-capacity problem as much as a security one. The Economist links the phenomenon to the country’s long internal war, which produced a deep bench of disciplined, combat-experienced veterans who now age out of service while still needing income. Because Colombia has not built strong pathways from military to civilian life, many former soldiers face a steep drop in earnings and benefits, making overseas contracts in places such as Ukraine or Mexico unusually compelling. The piece notes that Colombian recruits are prized for a combination of battlefield experience, familiarity with NATO-style kit and procedures, and lower cost than Western contractors. A key change is the recruitment channel: what was once handled through more professional intermediaries has become fragmented and online, with TikTok, Reddit, and chat apps functioning like job boards and support groups. The result, according to the article, is high casualty rates, disappearances, diplomatic headaches for Bogotá, and traumatized returnees.

Why it matters

The Economist’s February 16th 2026 El Boletín lead item explains why growing numbers of Colombians are signing up to fight in conflicts abroad, especially in Ukraine and Mexico.

Key details

  • Colombian veterans are a large recruitable pool because the country built one of South America’s biggest armies during decades of war with guerrilla groups; many soldiers leave after about 20 years of service or in their mid-40s, while some officers are forced out earlier if they miss promotion.
  • The article says Colombia lacks a comprehensive veteran-transition system, so ex-soldiers can abruptly lose salary, housing, health care, and institutional support; foreign contracts can therefore offer several times their monthly civilian income plus a sense of purpose and camaraderie.
  • Colombian fighters are attractive to foreign employers because they have combat experience, are familiar with NATO-standard equipment and procedures through close co-operation with the United States, and are cheaper than Western contractors.
  • Recruitment has shifted from relatively professional networks in the 2010s to informal online pipelines on TikTok, Reddit, and messaging apps, where Colombians trade tips on intermediaries and contracts and where risks, disappearances, casualties, and unclear chain-of-command are often downplayed.
Cleaned source text

title: El Boletín: Why so many Colombians fight in foreign wars

author: The Economist

content_type: newsletter

publication: e.economist.com

published: 2026-02-16T13:03:37-06:00

source_url: gmail://19c67d64f78cf533

word_count: 1613

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February 16th 2026 For subscribers

El Boletín

The best of _The Economist_ ’s Latin American coverage

Why so many Colombians fight in foreign wars

Carla Subirana Art ús | _News editor

A few months ago, while I was reporting on human trafficking, an NGO pointed out a trend they were alarmed by: increasing numbers of Colombian men were leaving the country to fight in foreign wars. That struck me. Colombia has spent decades trying to emerge from conflict. The idea that growing numbers of its citizens were voluntarily heading into new wars, far from home, felt jarring.

That online world opened onto a much larger story. Colombia has a vast pool of trained men, built up during the most intense years of its fight against guerrilla groups. It has one of South America’s largest armies, and that generation is now ageing out. Soldiers typically leave after two decades of service or in their mid-forties; officers passed over for promotion can be forced out sooner. The result is a steady stream of fit, disciplined veterans entering civilian life at an age when they still need to work.

But Colombia has never built a comprehensive system to help veterans transition into civilian life. For many, the support ends abruptly: they lose not just a salary but housing, health care and the institutional scaffolding that has shaped their adult lives. Civilian jobs rarely value military skills, and pensions are modest. Foreign contracts can look like a lifeline: several times the monthly income, coupled with the promise of purpose and camaraderie.

Colombians are attractive hires because they bring hard-won experience from decades of conflict. Thanks to close co-operation with the United States they are familiar with NATO-standard kit and procedures. They are also cheaper than Western contractors. Early waves of Colombians heading abroad, in the 2010s, were often recruited through relatively professional networks. Today the process is messier, more informal and increasingly online—making it easier for inexperienced men to be drawn in by online chatter that exaggerates pay and downplays risk, often without a clear sense of who they will be working for or where they will end up.

The consequences at home are brutal: high casualty rates, families of the deceased left to navigate foreign bureaucracies, and a steady trickle of traumatised men returning home.

We want to hear your thoughts on the recruitment of Colombian fighters abroad. Write to us at elboletin@economist.com.

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