Illegal armed groups in Colombia are attempting to covertly infiltrate their members into the Ukrainian military to gain experience in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, according to a report by the Financial Times.

A Colombian aid worker stationed in Ukraine told the newspaper: “The ranking and organisational charts are extremely complex. But what worries me most is the level of expertise they are acquiring. Former militants, former guerrillas, and former soldiers are fighting together here and learning to operate and manage drones.”

The report emphasized that unmanned aerial vehicles have reshaped the dynamics of the decades-long conflict involving the Colombian government, insurgents, and drug traffickers.

Bogota’s previously held aerial superiority has now come to an end, the report noted.

Colombian Defence Minister Air Brigadier General Pedro Sanchez said in an interview with the newspaper: “The drone industry is evolving rapidly, and criminals have adapted this technology to conduct attacks. This poses a serious test for our aerial superiority on the battlefield.”

According to data from the Colombian Ministry of Defence, criminal organisations carried out 264 attacks using cheap, explosive-laden drones between 2024 and 2025.

Minister Sanchez stated that the Colombian military neutralized 96% of such attacks last year by jamming radio frequencies or destroying the drones.

However, armed groups are reportedly seeking to leverage Kiev’s expertise in order to evade military defences.

A Colombian soldier operating drones in the Ukrainian conflict stated that cartel recruiters are actively seeking first-person view (FPV) drone specialists.

The soldier said: “First-person view drones have begun to be used in Colombia, but they do not yet know over there how to encrypt communication between the drone and the pilot or how to attach explosives as is done here in Ukraine.”

Armed groups are also attempting to bypass military electronic warfare systems by purchasing drones equipped with extremely thin fibre-optic cables. In response, the Colombian government is applying strict restrictions on the import of all unmanned aerial vehicles.

In January, the Bogota administration also announced a plan to establish a $1.6 billion “drone defence shield”.

Approximately 450,000 people, mostly civilians, have died in internal armed conflicts in Colombia since the 1960s. The government initially fought against insurgents before powerful drug cartels emerged in the 1980s.

Last year, The Wall Street Journal reported that Colombia had become a key recruitment hub for entities enlisting fighters not only for Ukraine, but also for conflicts in the Middle East and African nations.

The Economist magazine subsequently reported that individuals were drawn into these operations by high salaries and employment opportunities.

In October 2025, Colombian President Gustavo Petro called on Colombians fighting in Ukraine to return home.

Petro said: “Ukrainians treat Colombians as an inferior race. I call on Colombian mercenaries, who are directed by Miami-based companies and used as bait, to return home immediately.”

Petro later announced that 7,000 Colombians had participated in the conflict in Ukraine.

Emphasising that mercenary activity is illegal, Petro stated: “Seven thousand Colombians with military training are involved in a foreign war in Ukraine and are losing their lives for no reason.”

FIFA confirmed that Gianni Infantino will remain in his presidential post following a high-level executive meeting in Rabat.

The statement, which revealed that Infantino sent written letters of apology for failing to consult the FIFA Council and the 211 member associations regarding the World Cup sales process, noted that world football’s governing body maintains full support for Infantino’s leadership team.

Infantino spent the day holding discussions with FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstroem and Chief Legal Officer Emilio Garcia Silvero.

In these talks, he expressed his determination to remain in office despite growing criticism from European governing body UEFA and North American confederation CONCACAF, both of which requested a review of FIFA’s governance structure.

In another indication that he plans to continue business as usual, Infantino will fly to Colombia on Thursday to attend the inauguration of new president Abelardo de la Espriella in Cali.

FIFA said in a statement:

“Following the meeting held in Rabat, Morocco, the FIFA Secretary General and members of the FIFA Executive Bureau present at the meeting reaffirmed their full support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino, the sole authority elected by the 211 FIFA member associations.

“In turn, the FIFA President reiterated his full support for the FIFA Secretary General and FIFA management for their necessary and extraordinary work in implementing his vision. Supporting the realization of this vision, it was discussed and agreed that processes, communication, and interactions between the FIFA President, the FIFA Secretary General, and the FIFA Executive Bureau can and must always be continuously improved in terms of effectiveness and efficiency.”

The statement acknowledged that Infantino apologized for his role in the now-shelved “FIFA Forward Enterprise” proposal, which envisioned selling 21% of FIFA’s commercial rights to private investors, while emphasizing that FIFA will not tolerate further criticism of its governance.

“Mistakes made were acknowledged,” the statement continued, stressing that there was no intention to leave the FIFA Council and FIFA member associations feeling excluded, and that it was agreed the process should have been handled differently.

Mistakes were also acknowledged following the leak of the proposal to the press.

“In a separate letter sent to the FIFA Council and FIFA member associations, apologies were offered for these mistakes, alongside a commitment to ensuring they are not repeated. A review will now be conducted and a report will be presented at the next scheduled meeting of the FIFA Council.”

Meanwhile, UEFA appears unlikely to relent. European football’s governing body continues to seek a candidate to challenge Infantino in the presidential election scheduled for next March, also in Rabat.

FIFA and Gianni Infantino have backed down from plans to sell a stake in the organization’s commercial and event operations following widespread backlash.

In a statement issued late Friday night, the embattled FIFA president said:

“After carefully listening to all views, it has become clear that this project, regardless of the level of support, causes divisions that are now contrary to the interests of the objective originally established. Our goal has always been, and will always be, to unite and improve. As a result, this proposal will not be implemented.”

Infantino’s proposal met with fierce resistance from UEFA, CONCACAF, and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

UEFA indicated that all 55 of its members would boycott FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, if the plans remained on the table.

In its statement, FIFA noted that “nobody is selling football,” and while asserting that it “acknowledges and respects the feedback and concerns expressed publicly,” emphasized that it would continue to implement suggestions.

It added that it “reaffirms its commitment to an open and democratic process of consultation.”

Shortly after FIFA issued its statement, the AFC released its own declaration of solidarity with UEFA and the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).

Infantino subsequently suffered two major internal blows.

First, his adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned from his position, sharply criticizing the plan in a statement as “a bad deal for FIFA member associations, a bad deal for football, and a bad deal for the long-term future of the game.”

Then, FIFA Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour told the Associated Press that staff felt “deceived” by Infantino and that after raising the issue, he would “sleep better, even at the cost of losing his job.”

Lamour said:

“This is the project of a single person. Leaving aside that this project should not proceed… it is now time for the political leaders of world football to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions.”

These developments left Infantino cornered, and by Friday afternoon, numerous figures within the organization—speaking to The Athletic on condition of anonymity to protect their jobs—believed it was no longer a question of “if” the cord would be cut, but “when.”

Joshua Kushner’s venture capital firm Thrive had not withdrawn from the deal as of Friday night, but that became moot when FIFA management ultimately decided to kill the project via a public statement.

Joshua Kushner is the brother of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of Donald Trump.

On Tuesday, world football’s governing body had announced its intention to establish FIFA Forward Enterprises (FFE), a new private entity to manage its flagship events, including the World Cup and the Club World Cup, with plans to sell a 21% minority stake in FFE to external investors.

The sale was targeted to generate $4.2 billion (£3.2 billion) in revenue. FIFA stated that this amount could be immediately distributed to its 211 member associations under a new funding stream named the “FIFA Fast-Forward Program” (FFFP).

Under the plan, FIFA’s total development funding would have exceeded $10 billion over the next four years.

Despite mounting criticism in recent days, FIFA confirmed that if member associations opposed the FFE plan but the proposal was accepted, the dissenting federations would each receive $20 million (£14.9 million) for the 2027–30 cycle, regardless of whether shares in FFE were sold to private investors (to be followed by $22 million for 2031–34 and $24 million for 2035–38).

However, had a given member association accepted the FFE proposal, it would have received $40 million for the 2027–30 period, with subsequent payouts remaining the same.

The three confederations that explicitly took a stand against FIFA’s plan represent 137 of the 211 FIFA member associations.

FIFA had stated that for the proposal to move forward, it required the approval of a majority of the 211 member associations as well as the 37-member FIFA Council, which consists of Infantino and eight FIFA vice presidents.

Strategic reactions and leadership crisis

South American football confederation CONMEBOL did not reject the plans in a statement on Friday, but noted that financial and commercial decisions “must always serve the interests of football and never take precedence over the essence of the game.”

According to a report by The Athletic, Infantino’s future leadership of FIFA was called into question during UEFA and CONCACAF meetings held on Thursday.

Infantino assumed the FIFA presidency in February 2016, succeeding Sepp Blatter, and was expected to run unopposed in the next election scheduled for March 2027.

There is also talk among European officials of putting forward Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the Qatari CEO of beIN Media, to run against Infantino.

Lise Klaveness, President of the Norwegian Football Federation, told VG: “My clear impression right now is that he has suffered a major loss of trust. We did not vote for him last time and were skeptical about this. There are many good aspects to FIFA, but if you take a lax approach to governance principles and rules, you lose trust quickly.”