Instead, he and a friend were outfitted with weapons and sent against their will to the front lines of a war they never intended to join. "Please, please help get us out of here," Vegas Díaz said in an Aug. 31 video.
The plea for help went viral. Similar stories began to surface, as Cubans sought information about family members who had also flown to Moscow to join the Russian military. The outcry prompted the Cuban government to issue a striking allegation: a "human-trafficking network" operating out of Russia was luring young Cubans to enlist to fight in Ukraine. On Sept. 8, Cuban officials said they had arrested 17 people in connection with the alleged trafficking scheme.
But social media posts, audio messages, and videos from recruits in Russia reviewed by TIME, along with interviews with family members and documents obtained by a Ukrainian hacker group, combine to tell a very different story. They indicate that Vegas Díaz became caught up in an organized operation that has openly recruited hundreds of Cuban volunteers to fight in Moscow's depleted army.
この記事は Time の October 09, 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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この記事は Time の October 09, 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
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