A Cuban teenager was offered a job doing 'construction work' in Russia. Instead he was sent to fight on the front lines in Ukraine.
A Cuban teenager was offered a job doing 'construction work' in Russia. Instead he was sent to fight on the front lines in Ukraine.
A 19-year-old Cuban accepted a job offer he received on WhatsApp to do construction work but ended up in the trenches in Ukraine, per Time.
A Cuban teenager unwittingly found himself on the front lines of the war in Ukraine after accepting a job offer he received on WhatsApp to do "construction work" for the Russian military, according to Time magazine.
Alex Vegas Díaz, 19, and a friend were taken to a military base, outfitted with weapons, and then sent to fight, according to Time, which reviewed social media footage posted by Vegas Díaz.
In one of the videos, dated August 31, which went viral, Vegas Díaz can be seen in a Russian hospital recovering from an unspecified illness. According to Time, he said he was due to be sent back to the front upon recovery.
From his hospital bed, he pleaded to "help get us out of here," adding: "What is happening in Ukraine is ugly—to see people with their heads open before you, to see how people are killed, feel the bombs falling next to you."
According to Time, Vegas Díaz said in one video: "There are dead Cubans, there are missing Cubans, and this is not going to end until the war is over."
He added: "We know that Cuba is aware and our advice to Cubans is not to come here. This is the craziest thing. Crazy. Don't do it."
Time reported that Vegas Díaz became part of a large operation that openly recruited hundreds of Cubans to join the Russian army to fight in Ukraine.
According to the magazine, the recruitment effort involved adverts for job contracts with the Ministry of Defence in Russia that began to appear on Cuban Facebook groups in June.
It said that recruits were offered 204,000 rubles, or $2,120 US dollars, to sign up.
Average monthly salaries in Cuba are dramatically lower, making it an enticing prospect.
Time reviewed the job contracts, which it said required a one-year commitment, but came with an enlistment fee and a payout for the families of recruits if they are killed in action.
The exact number of Cubans recruited through this initiative remains uncertain, with estimates provided to Time ranging from hundreds to more than a thousand
Though Cuba's foreign ministry described the recruitment effort as a "human trafficking network," four Cuba experts and former US officials expressed skepticism to Time
They said that the Cuban government, a long-standing ally of Russia, may be using such language to maintain the appearance of a neutral stance in the Ukraine conflict, Time reported.
Regardless of the nature or provenance of the recruitment drive, there is concern in the US that recruits such as Vegas Díaz may have been deceived into accepting job offers.
The State Department said in a statement provided to Time that "we are deeply concerned that young Cubans may have been deceived and recruited to fight for Russia in its brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and we continue to monitor this situation closely."
The US State Department did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
If only there was an international body to prevent or penalize countries like Russia who do this. We could call it the Nations United!
Hmm, doesn't rule off the tongue as easily as League of Countries
At the rate we are going, we'll end up with the League of LLCs
It impossible to do anything to one of the permanent security council members. They can each veto anything the UN can do to them. So, your idea is not that bright. You can read about the Russia Ukraine thing here. . It’s an actual UN write up about your big idea.
Oh damn, an article containing a topic about Russia and Cuba. I hope this post will contain a civil conversation about the topic without it derailing into a giant fighting pit about the United States.
I'ts hard to talk about decisions without talking about conditions, and sooner or later in that conversation you have to acknowledge who sets the conditions and what can be done about it.
Yeah not like the USA had been deeply invested in the futures of both nations for the majority of the last century or anything like that.
The Russian Federation was founded about 30 years ago due to NATO and its work with the USSR's internal compradores. It's difficult to discuss modern Russia without involving the West.
Cuba and Russia, both which exist as they exist because of US meddling. The US was directly responsible for the undemocratic dissolution of the USSR without which this war wouldn't be happening. The US is directly responsible for cuban economic desperation as they've been sieging Cuba ever since the communists overthrew the US puppet dictator and installed a socialist democracy.
I hope this post will contain a civil conversation about the topic without it derailing into a giant fighting pit about the United States.
Whelp...it was a good thought.
Surprise surprise bunch of hexbearians doing it.
Everyone knows that socialism is when simping for autocrats doing an imperialism. That's definitely not something a reactionary shill would do in bad faith, I'd like to make that clear.
USA! USA! USA!
Putin is not a Comrade and is just as bad if not worse than Bush. This is a war to secure resources, not a war to denazify Ukraine.
It feels weird to compare Putin to bush given the probable genocide going on. Murdering whole villages, raping babies, shipping kids back to Russia to brainwash them, forcing fake elections to annex territory, purposefully causing international crisis by limiting the export of food, and purposefully blowing up dams. Bush and Putin are incomparable.
Bush and Cheney deserves prison. Putin and his whole government deserve to see the world upside down for a brief time.
Man I fuckin hate bush but you're too high on the borscht if you think he's comparable to Putin.
Manufacturing a war based on deceiving your population with hyper patriotic propaganda and out right lies is Manufacturing a war based on deceiving your population with hyper patriotic propaganda and out right lies 🤷♂️
Yeah, so far Bush is responsible for far more death.
I'm not sure what metric you would use to quantify how bad a person is, but the number of people they are responsible for killing seems like an okay one.
They are both fucking evil, and should be lined up against a wall.
Stop trying to rehabilitate Bush, and justifying the horror of the Iraq war. You don't need to do that to criticize Putin.
It seems to me at least that this is a war to eradicate a people as evidenced by Russia targeting schools, abducting children and brutally killing civilians. Make no mistake, Putin intends to end Ukraine not just by annexing territory, but by erasing their entire history and cultural identity.
Dennis Reynolds : Well dude, dude, think about it: he's out in the middle of nowhere with some employer he barely knows. You know, he looks around and what does he see? Nothin' but Eastern Europe. "Ahh, there's nowhere for me to run. What am I gonna do, say 'no'?"
Mac : Okay. That... that seems really dark.
Dennis Reynolds : Nah, no it's not dark. You're misunderstanding me, bro.
Mac : I'm-I think I am.
Dennis Reynolds : Yeah, you are, because if the girl said "no" then the answer obviously is "no"...
Mac : No, right.
Dennis Reynolds : But the thing is he's not gonna say "no", he would never say "no" because of the implication.
Mac : ...Now you've said that word "implication" a couple of times. Wha-what implication?
Dennis Reynolds : The implication that things might go wrong for him if he refuses to fight for Russia. Now, not that things are gonna go wrong for him but he's thinkin' that they will.
Why would you ever accept any kind of deal which had you go into Russia?
Sucks to get drawn into that conflict. On some level surely you'd know going to Russia in war time isn't a smart thing to do.
Those who do not learn history are doomed to die in a Russian war of aggression against their neighbor, or something.
$2120 is too low for a year long contract for overseas work even for third world country standards, let alone in a country that is involved in an active war.
I think that was a signing bonus, not an annual salary.
And yet, according to google, that's higher than the average salary in Cuba. Not even minimum.
What 3rd world country? Monthly $2k + $1,5k bonus at signing, +other bonuses and priveleges, +compensations if hurt\dead in a first month making it one median yearly payment in Russia meaning half of the country earn less than that in 12 months, and it's still not the worst country in the world economically speaking. You mean there's a lack of poor and desperate people with no prospects in life? For Cubans it's also a chance to settle overseas and drag their family here, so I do see why they'd pick that, especially if they are lied to about what it means. As one criminal saying goes, gullible people would never get extinct.
What is the state department going to do? Sanction them?😅
How progressive of Putin.
Wouldn’t be surprised if there’s also a ton of North Koreans we never hear about.
Oops, didn't specify what you'd be building. Trenches of course!
I'm not sure that's OSHA compliant...
the ol' bait and switch! classic! 🤣
man hexbear is just something else: emoji stalin-gun-1 , emoji diaz-canel-troll
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A Cuban teenager unwittingly found himself on the front lines of the war in Ukraine after accepting a job offer he received on WhatsApp to do "construction work" for the Russian military, according to TIME magazine.
TIME reported that Vegas Díaz became part of a large operation that openly recruited hundreds of Cubans to join the Russian army to fight in Ukraine.
According to the magazine, the recruitment effort involved adverts for job contracts with the Ministry of Defence in Russia that began to appear on Cuban Facebook groups in June.
TIME reviewed the job contracts, which it said required a one-year commitment, but came with an enlistment fee and a payout for the families of recruits if they are killed in action.
They said that the Cuban government, a long-standing ally of Russia, may be using such language to maintain the appearance of a neutral stance in the Ukraine conflict, TIME reported.
The State Department said in a statement provided to TIME that "we are deeply concerned that young Cubans may have been deceived and recruited to fight for Russia in its brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and we continue to monitor this situation closely."
The original article contains 488 words, the summary contains 196 words. Saved 60%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
"There's nothing here but war, where the murderin' cannons roar, And I am sick and tired of this hard fighting."
I don't get why the fuck are ruzzians are even fighting anymore. They wont win, they know it well enough. Why do their orcs still fight?
This reads like a fake CIA plant story
Ahh yes, a factual story that paints authoritarians in a negative light; must be the CIA 🤡
Is the CIA in the room with us right now?
Cuban government themselves confirmed this was happening a few weeks ago
My tinfoil hat is on too tight comrade save yourself there is no hope for me
Constructing a communist empire, or die trying
TIME is full of shit. Cuba just shut down a recruitment cell, and they covered the collapse of the USSR years ago. The friendly relationship with Russia died with the USSR.
Time isn't full of shit. This did happen and Cuba shut it down because despite their issues they are not ok with the exploitation of Cubans.
I don't understand why you disagree with me, you essentially restated what I said. Time isn't reporting truthfully here and displaying their bourgeois interests by implicitly associating the RSFSR with the Russian Federation.
Isn't Cuba one of the very few countries that recognises the Russian annexation of Crimea?
Yes