Men like Miguel, who in July traveled to Russia and soon after was on the front lines of the war with Ukraine, his mother Cecilia told CNN. In places like Santa Clara, a city of around 250,000 people with frequent hours-long daily blackouts and more horses and carts on the road than cars, there was seemingly an unlimited number of disaffected men to recruit. For months, hundreds of Cubans have quietly left the island to fight for Russia in its war in Ukraine, chasing promises of money and Russian citizenship from shadowy online recruiters, family members told CNN.Īcross much of Cuba, the economy has ground to a standstill as the communist-run island reels from a sharp drop in tourism, spiking inflation and renewed US sanctions.
