RUSSIAN SPIES IN COLOMBIA. WHAT IS AT STAKE?
Flag photo created by leoaltman – www.freepik.com
RUSSIAN SPIES IN COLOMBIA. WHAT IS AT STAKE?
By Luis Fleischman
The Colombian government, which now joins a growing list of countries targeted by Russian espionage, just recently expelled two Russian diplomats for precisely that reason.
There is a real question of why Moscow has chosen a country seeming of little strategic importance to spy on. The answer to this question should be understood against the background of Russia’s foreign policy.
Russia has already been involved in espionage and sabotage activities in the West for some time. The Russians penetrated the state structures in the former Soviet republics and satellites, but they also have managed to conduct cyberattacks in the United States, Germany, and other Western countries. They launched a disinformation campaign aimed at benefitting Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential campaign and attempted to blackmail the former French president Francois Holland and hacked the current French president Emanuel Macron’s presidential campaign. They interfered in French social media by launching anti-immigrant campaigns, most probably to help the right-wing nationalist National Front party. They did the same in Germany’s elections. Alarmingly, Russians have also increased their spy networks in Great Britain to cold war levels.
Moscow’s support for illiberal candidates is part of a comprehensive strategy to undermine peoples’ confidence in democratic institutions. Russia has a problem with the expansion of world democracy, a policy the U.S. carried out from the end of the cold war until the presidency of Barack Obama.
Colombia is seen as a democracy and as an “enemy of my friend,” Venezuela. Russia has supported Nicolas Maduro and his cruel regime, along with China, Cuba, and Iran. Moscow resents the expansion of NATO that included former Soviet republics and satellites. Russia was immensely angered by the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the idea of American unipolar domination. The Kremlin views America’s sphere of influence in the Western Hemisphere as a target; mostly, it sought to take advantage of the emergence of anti-American regimes in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Nicaragua.
Certain factors played for the Russians. The first was Obama’s quixotic foreign policy that ignored the increasing military cooperation between Moscow and Caracas (Robert Gates, who most recently wrote an op-ed endorsing the idea of an alliance of world democracies when he was Defense Secretary under President Obama mocked and dismissed the joint Russian-Venezuelan military exercises and ignored the shipping of Russian weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The other factor was the former Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos, who was eager to reach an agreement with the FARC and, as a result, weakened the Colombian intelligence and security apparatus.
Colombia is a U.S. ally and an enemy of Venezuela. Russia assists Maduro in sending Venezuelan spies and thousands of Venezuelan refugees arriving at the Colombia-Venezuela border, a destabilizing problem for the Colombian government.
The Russians were very much interested in spying on Colombia’s leading energy and oil company, Ecopetrol. Some intelligence sources have claimed that Russia is very concerned that Ecopetrol fracking activities may compete with the Russian oil industry to the latter’s detriment. It may well be. Some have said that Russia is behind the anti-fracking protests organized by Colombian environmentalists. However, there is something more ominous here. It could well be that Russia is trying to take over or have a presence in Colombian oil production to increase its influence in the area. In other words, this may be part of a macro-economic strategy to increase domination through soft-power, as China does.
Biden’s strategy needs to consider these factors. It is not clear to what extent his administration is aware of these challenges. If he is to confront Russian activities in Latin America, his administration will have to face Venezuela, too, as both countries work in coordination. Maduro will not agree to a transition to democracy as Biden wishes to be the case. Sanctions need to continue until the regime collapses from within, and American companies must continue to have a presence even in countries under a sanctions regime. There have been dissidents already (although not enough to topple Maduro). Likewise, a naval blockade to prevent Russian, Cuban, and Iranian ships from arriving in Venezuela is crucial.
Over the past several decades, China, Russia, and Iran have taken advantage of the existence of regimes unfriendly to the United States. This trend must not continue.
About Luis Fleischman
About the Author

Luis Fleischman
CO-FOUNDER, CONTRIBUTOR AND BOARD MEMBER
Luis Fleischman, Ph.D is a professor of Sociology at Palm Beach State College. He served as Vice-President of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County, and as a Latin America expert at the Washington DC –Menges Hemispheric Project (Center for Security Policy)
Related Articles
The ‘Deep State’ May Not Be As Bad – OpEd
The term “deep state” has been repeatedly heard since Donald Trump was first elected president in 2016. In this view, the “deep state” has been interpreted to mean the federal agencies of the executive branch composed of unelected bureaucrats standing in the way of presidential policies.
Bombing the Houthis Is a Good Start, but a Successful Strategy Must Be Broader
The U.S. Campaign Must Combine Military Force, Aggressive Diplomacy, Economic Warfare, and Influence Operations
How Donald Trump Can Win A War Against the Drug Cartels
In late January, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote in the Wall Street Journal that Trump’s America First policy pays close attention to the Western Hemisphere. Rubio claimed that previous administrations have overlooked Latin America, and he pledged things would be different from now on.

The Center is a gathering of scholars, experts and community stakeholders, that engage in research and dialogue in an effort to create practical policy recommendations and solutions to current local, national, and international challenges.
EXPLORE THE CENTER
FOCUS AREAS
©2025 The Palm Beach Center for Democracy and Policy Research. All Rights Reserved