From Construction to Conflict: The Unexpected Journey of a Cuban Teen in Russia

A Cuban teenager, Alex Vegas Díaz, unknowingly ended up on the front lines of the war in Ukraine after accepting a job offer for construction work with the Russian military. He and hundreds of other Cubans were recruited through a social media campaign that offered enticing salaries. The US State Department expressed concern that young Cubans may have been deceived into fighting for Russia in Ukraine's conflict, while the Cuban government described the recruitment effort as a "human trafficking network."