“They used me” to recruit soldiers: Amador Méndez tells his side and promises to surrender

Amador Méndez Arancibia, facing accusations of recruiting Bolivians for military service in Russia, has broken his silence to deny misleading those who traveled abroad. Méndez, 83, asserts he acted solely as an intermediary after being contacted by a Russian national identified only as 'Henry.'

According to Méndez's account, 'Henry' offered him $200 per recruit for individuals interested in a six-month military training program in Russia. Méndez claims he contacted approximately 11 Bolivians, primarily relatives and acquaintances from his hometown, promising them training, not deployment to a war zone. He maintains he never received the promised payment for his recruitment efforts.

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I never lied to them. They are my nephews, they were my acquaintances. How could I have thought such madness would happen?

Méndez is currently under investigation for human trafficking with the aim of recruitment and has an active arrest warrant. Speaking from hiding, he expressed his willingness to surrender to justice once his health permits. He insists that the young men were aware they were traveling for military training and, in his version, signed contracts in Spanish specifying this purpose.

However, Méndez alleges that upon arrival in Russia, the situation changed drastically. He claims the Bolivian recruits were coerced into signing new one-year contracts, implying they were then forced into combat roles. His lawyer, David Chávez, supports Méndez's claim of limited involvement, stating his client directly contacted only about ten individuals and was not part of a larger recruitment structure.

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It specified that they were only going for military training, that they were not going to war.