自2022年俄罗斯入侵乌克兰以来，专家估计至少有3,000名哥伦比亚人曾在乌克兰辗转参战且两边都有，使其成为最大的外国队伍之一；罗萨里奥大学的安全专家马里奥·乌鲁埃尼亚-桑切斯估计，约有10,000名哥伦比亚人卷入海外冲突。与西方人相比，哥伦比亚退伍军人成本更低且可被更快部署，这推动了跨国武装劳工市场的扩张。

供给侧也在上升：哥伦比亚拥有南美第二大军队（仅次于巴西），现役超过260,000人，而在2000年代初快速扩军的那批人正陆续到达退役期。士兵通常在服役约20年或年满45岁后离队，再加上2022年古斯塔沃·佩特罗就任以来已有超过13,000名士兵自愿离队，使受训人员在相对年轻时持续流入市场。

经济差距强化了流出：养老金通常每月约400美元，而海外合约承诺可支付其数倍；招募往往通过社交媒体和消息应用进行，薪酬、保险与条件的说法经常被夸大。风险与外溢效应同样显著：2021年7月约20名哥伦比亚人参与刺杀海地总统若弗内尔·莫伊兹，苏丹内战中据报至少300名哥伦比亚人为快速支援部队作战，且美国在12月制裁了一个被指为该冲突招募哥伦比亚前士兵的网络。

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, experts estimate at least 3,000 Colombians have passed through Ukraine and fought on both sides, making them one of the largest foreign contingents; a security expert at Rosario University estimates perhaps 10,000 Colombians are involved in foreign conflicts overall. Lower costs than Westerners and faster deployability help explain the expansion of this global armed-labour market.

Supply is rising too: Colombia has South America’s second-largest army after Brazil, with more than 260,000 active troops, and the cohort expanded sharply in the early 2000s is now reaching retirement. Soldiers typically leave after roughly two decades of service or on turning 45, and more than 13,000 have left voluntarily since President Gustavo Petro took office in 2022, creating a steady outflow of trained men at relatively young ages.

Economic gaps intensify the pull: pensions are typically about $400 a month, while foreign contracts promise multiples of that amount, with recruitment often informal via social media and messaging apps where pay, insurance, and conditions are routinely exaggerated. The risks and spillovers are also quantifiable: about 20 Colombians took part in Haiti’s presidential assassination in July 2021, reports indicated at least 300 Colombians fighting for Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, and the United States imposed sanctions in December on a network accused of recruiting Colombian ex-soldiers for that war.

Source: Why so many Colombians fight in foreign wars

Subtitle: It has become a diplomatic problem for Colombia’s government

Dateline: 2月 05, 2026 06:12 上午