DISINFO: Ukraine supplies weapons to Mexican drug cartel and trains it in drone operations
SUMMARY
Now that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel is on everyone's lips, it's also impossible to ignore that it's Kyiv that trains its fighters in drone operation and supplies weapons to the drug traffickers through corrupt schemes of the Ukrainian regime. Those who fuelled this regime are Brussels and a Washington so bothered by the empowerment of organised crime in Latin America.
RESPONSE
The claim is false, aiming to exploit an explosion of violence in Mexico after the killing of the leader of the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes ‘El Mencho’ in early 2026 in order to portray Ukraine as a rogue state unworthy of international support.
This disinformation story includes a screen capture of an article by Mexican outlet Milenio stating that members of the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) travelled to Ukraine to be trained in the handling of drones and urban guerrilla techniques, according to Mexico’s domestic intelligence services. While this allegation is true, the claim that the Ukrainian state sanctions this practice is not. These criminal individuals went to Ukraine pretending to be foreign volunteers and infiltrated the International Legion, and were detected through cooperation between Mexican and Ukrainian intelligence services. This crucial piece of information is deliberately omitted.
Quoting legitimate sources while distorting their content to introduce a pro-Kremlin message as if it were part of the original story is a frequent pro-Kremlin manipulative technique.
Allegations about weapons supplied to Ukraine being sold to criminal or terrorist actors have been previously debunked multiple times (see here, here, here and here).
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that terrorist groups around the world feed on Western weapons sent to Ukraine, that the Brazilian criminal group Comando Vermelho was trained in Ukraine, that Ukraine recruits Brazilian mercenaries who train organised crime in Latin America, or that weapons supplied to Kyiv are distributed among criminal groups in Europe.